Real Ice Cream Doesn't Come on a Stick

According to Ellery.....ice cream on a stick isn't real ice cream or that good. It did take her eating the whole treat on the stick to come to the conclusion that it isn't good, but at least she figured it out!

How are you doing

Bryson is doesn't understand what "monkey sees monkey can't do." He is a firm believer in the concept of monkey see/monkey do! Our newest cry for being older is sitting in a big boy chair. I literally have to bend him to get him to sit in his chair. It isn't a pleasant scene or experience for anyone around. Some days I just don't have the fight in me and Easter was one of them. I decided to let him be the big boy that he thinks he is. The problem is that while I was multitasking on getting everyone else their requests and needs I didn't tend to Bryson's table manners. I found him happy as can be enjoying his meal, just not like how I would prefer he sit at the table!

Cooking at Papaw's

Grandma Debbie does a great job on cooking with the kids when they come to visit. The kids really enjoy it and I don't mind it myself. She always makes us cinnamon rolls and I have to use the term us very loosely. She might make them for everyone, but I can't stop eating them because they are sooooooooooooo good! So she might make a big pan of them, but I eat about half the pan because I can't control myself around them. They are my favorite cinnamon roll of ALL TIME!

The highlights of this trip were donuts, even papaw got in on making these with the kids. We also made cake pops on a stick. If you look closely at the picture below you will see the fancy holder Papaw made for us to stick them in. (a box with nail holes) He treats us well. I had never made the cake pops, but was amazed by them. You bake the cake, crumble it up, mix it with frosting, form balls/insert stick, and then dip in melted chocolate! Who wouldn't love that?

Donuts at Church

I usually pick him a white frosted donut, but they were out today. If you have to ask why, look closer at this sweet boy. He had chocolate everywhere and he now eats donuts like his sister. Eat all the frosting off the top and then decide if you want to eat the bottom half. Most of the time the answer is no, but sometimes they eat a little of the bottom or pawn it off to Mason. Mason is opposite, he would take most everything plain before condiments and frosting. Mason and Rob eat the middle pieces of cake while Ellery, Bryson, and I eat the frosted edges. Thank goodness we have 4 corners on a cake and I only have to share two of those corners! 

Candle Light Dinner

I do love sitting at the table with the family at night. I might get tired of prep work and clean up, but I enjoy everyone. It is a great way to end the day. Usually someone has something very interesting to share or I should say interesting statements are used!
Since it was so close to Valentine's Day I treated us to hot dogs by candle light! We turned out the lights and ate while watching the candle flicker. Ellery was a bit concerned about the fire aspect, but we moved onto other topics before that topic could go any other place. Everyone was very excited and liked the ambiance. We actually talked about ambiance so Mason and Ellery had a good time. It was hysterical listening to them talk about the ambiance. Thank goodness we choose that word rather than romantic. I don't want to go down that path yet. Mason might not be that inquisitive, he tends to ask his question get his answer and move on, but Ellery likes to ask more in depth questions. One could only imagine what path we would go down with romantic!

Pudding

I am going to rat myself out! I had kept my kids away from pudding for quite some time, I don't have any particular reason for this other than I hate cleaning it off of them! They had no idea that they were missing out on yummy stuff! I think you can feel my pain after reviewing these photos.

Cooking Class

I took the kids to our new grocery stores first cooking class. They requested the kids be 5 years old, but I asked if I could bring my 3 year old. I sensed some apprehensiveness from them, but I assured them she would be good and they would never know she was 3. Thank goodness she was her usual happy go lucky self. She was thrilled to be in class with Mason and Sam. This cooking class was what I expected a cooking class to be. Instead of having the kids stand in line and help stir, pour, turn on the mixer, etc they each got all the supplies at their spot in the table and followed the directions given. Happy kids and they loved making their food. They made chicken skewers, mini english muffin pizzas, and decorated a cookie. They then ate it all at the end of class. I didn't have to prepare a snack and we only needed a light dinner since they ate so much at cooking class!

Bryson's Eating Habits

Bryson has found a new way to nourish himself! His mind amazes us and how he gets tickled over things!

Bean Boozled

Oh, the reason we headed downtown over Labor Day weekend was because the Jelly Belly Tour bus was in town. Rob loves jelly bellies, so it was a no brainer that we needed to have this experience. I am not so sure if it is an experience I would ever do again. They have a new line called "Bean Boozled". You get to spin a fun wheel and you have to try what you land on. You could get either skunk spray or licorice, pencil shavings or top banana, rotten egg or buttered popcorn, toothpaste or berry blue, canned dog food or chocolate pudding, barf or peach, booger or juicy pear, moldy cheese or caramel corn, baby wipes or coconut, centipede or strawberry jam.

The kids spun the wheel and he controls it so it always lands on toothpaste or berry blue. Ellery says she got berry and Mason said his tasted like toothpaste. One has no idea which one you are getting because the blues look exactly alike. Ewwww

Rob made me go first, what a gentleman. I am not sure anyone is a good option. I ended up landing on canned dog food or chocolate pudding. I popped that bean like a pro and wanted to spit it out and did! I now know what canned dog food really tastes like! Rob took his turn and got baby wipes or coconut. That would be a no win situation for me because I hate coconut, but no worries, he got to taste baby wipes. His response was it tastes like what we think baby wipes would taste like! We were proud winners of being Bean Boozled and walked away with a lot of free samples of normal jelly bellies, smiling kids, and proud sticker wearing parents stating we had been Bean Boozled! BEWARE, we bought a box and you really can't tell the difference. You may think twice before you snag a jelly belly from our candy container! Insert evil laugh! Muuuuuuuaaaaaaahhhhhhhh

Good Bye Bottles

Since, we are in the process of getting rid of the bottles and Bryson pretty much can feed it to himself, I decided to let the kids have fun with him! How old should they have to be before I let them babysit him? We make charts for all sorts of other things around here, maybe I should make myself a chart in counting down to those days!

Shrimp Boil

The reason we go to Charleston every other year is for a big family reunion. What a reunion it is every year. 40+ family members! Impressive!! This year we had everyone over to the beach house for a shrimp boil. Yummy! A big thanks to Ellen and Uncle Tom for boiling the shrimp and making the grits! Although I don't eat grits I know everyone else really enjoys them and it might be the only time every other year that I give my kids grits! I was worried how the kids would do with a huge house full of people. Surprise surprise Mason went around introducing himself and stating his age. Ellery was a bit more overwhelmed and stuck close to an immediate family member. Bryson shockingly went to anyone who would hold him as long as he couldn't see me. Plus everyone in our family likes shrimp? Who knew??

Ice Cream Social and Bike Parade

Our neighborhood puts on a 4th of July Parade followed by an ice cream social. The torch has been passed to the Chaplin family to host! We decorated the kids bikes and Rob walked the circle with them, while I got the ice cream social ready. I think everyone enjoyed themselves after 2.5 huge tubs of ice cream consumed and served.

Zesto

An Omaha hidden treasure is Zesto's! My friend Anne introduced us to Zesto's, and I think it might now become a regular rotation on our zoo trips. From the looks of it I don't think I will have any resistance from the kids!

Deck Picnic

Something about eating outside is appealing! These mini chairs from Papaw and Grandma Debbie help the appeal as well!

Chocolate Dream Cake

Oh, I know you wish you had a friend and neighbor like I do. My hips don't like having them as neighbors, but my taste buds are in heaven. I never got the official name of the cake, but my friend Anne's husband can make cakes. We are talking fancy cakes, this chocolate dream had 3 layers of yummy goo with carmel as well. Oh, and the drizzle of sea salt on top was just right. My favorite used to be his carrot cake, but now this wins hands down.

Hanging Out

This one is happy as can be hanging out as long as someone is around to watch him hang. He also eats anything you put in front of him.

C is for Cookie

Grandma Debbie has conditioned the children. Every time we visit or she visits she makes them yummy cookies. Not only does she make a double batch of cookies with extra chocolate chips, she makes them each their initial out of cookie. The kids really enjoy eating them. They also have learned to eat the regular cookies first and their initial last since no one usually eats their initial.

Papaw had a captivated audience on the floor playing with him. He always has a captivated audience and helpers when he puts his legs on and off. Ellery is becoming a fan riding in the wheel chair with him as well.
Bryson had a good time being cuddled by everyone and even though we captured him crying it isn't his usual happy self. I had to snap a picture quick because Grandma Debbie isn't a fan of having her picture taken.

The kids also enjoyed a picnic outside.

Eating like a Dragon

Oh the thank yous we could send daily to Papaw and Grandma Debbie for giving us the movie How to Train Your Dragon. It has a had a profound impact on our children. Ellery spilled some milk on the table, I am not sure it was an accident? I think she wanted to eat and drink like Toothless does. Mason didn't want to lick the table, but he liked licking his lips like Toothless.

Post Bachelorette Party Fun

Oh, the phallic cookies somehow ended up in the back of my car and made it home to Omaha. The kids had no idea and just wanted a cookie. I wouldn't want to disappoint my children, so I gave them one. Rob told them they were beans and franks cookies. Mason just gave him a "huh?"

T-Rex Dinner

My friend Kim came out to visit us at the Lodge and we took the kids out to dinner to T-Rex Cafe. It is close to going to the Rainforest Cafe, but imagine it being on steroids. The kids loved it, but who ever designed it had a crazy imagination. It is a dinosaur cafe, but has an under water theme as well. We didn't have the pleasure sitting under the jelly fish, but they made a nice back drop to the picture of Mason and Cora. We did get to sit next to the giant salt water tank and watch interesting fish watch us eat. Thank goodness I didn't order fish to eat or I would have felt awkward.

Just stamp "sucker" on our foreheads. The marketing strategy is brilliant at T-Rex Cafe. We also had a dinner conversation with Kim and Cora regarding her new green dinosaur that she made at Build a Bear with her uncle. She told me her name was Wendy and I heard Green Tea. So it was only fitting when Ellery picked out the pink dinosaur "to build" that we name her Pink-T. Mason picked out the saber tooth tiger and named him Orangie. Pink-T and Orangie are our new favorite pals.