Buried Alive by Cheerios...Send Help!!

Last week I opened my blog with a delightful tale of accomplishments called "The Tah-Da" list...I guess I wanted to get off on the right foot and give the impression that I am a flawless housekeeper and mother. But something happened this week... My son has officially entered the Terrible Two's. Since Monday it has been a battle everyday until bedtime. Once he finally falls asleep I creep into his room to check on him and to look at his little angel face. I think to myself, 'what a sweet little boy, I wonder what he is dreaming about?'...I know what he's dreaming about!! A million and one ways to drive me crazy.

My home hasn't been this filthy since I was going to work and school full time. Even then the sink might have been piled with dirty dishes but I could still make it across the room without crunching Cheerios under my feet or twisting my ankle on a wooden block. I am beginning to feel like its me against the baby. Almost as if he's setting booby traps with the hopes of me falling and being unable to stop him from climbing the shelves or getting into the cupboards. I picture myself lying there helpless with him throwing cheerios at my head and refusing to give mommy the cellphone to call for help. Have I mentioned that he has learned the word "MINE!" this week...

This morning I was feeling like a great mother. I was going to ignore the dirty house and take my boy to see Clifford the Big Red Dog at the Barnes and Noble story time. When we arrived at the bookstore my son went directly over to a group a little boys playing at the train set. I thought what a good little boy. He's so friendly and confident. Then it was time for story time with Clifford. All of the mothers and children migrated over to the story area and were waiting patiently for the story time to begin....My child was more interested in taking all the books off of the discount shelf. As if I don't spend most of my day at home placing books back in their rightful spot, now I am forced to restock the shelves at B&N. I carefully guided him back to the story area, found a great spot around a few other boys his age and plopped him in my lap. That lasted for about 3.2 seconds. He wrestled his way out of my grip and ran up on the platform and began climbing in the story lady's chair. Another boy in the group thought that was a great idea and followed my little leader. I grabbed Nick, sat down and began wrestling with him again. The lady sitting next to me with the perfectly highlighted hair was non-chalantly inching away from me and my "energetic" toddler. I knew that if I didn't leave this very minute we would probably be banned from story time forever. I scooped up Nick and began leaving when the screeching started. I couldn't get to the door quick enough. For years I looked at other mothers who had children like mine and thought "what is that woman doing wrong? why can't she control her child? My child will never act like that!" Well, never say never folks. As soon as I walked out of the bookstore my child stopped screeching and began waving "bye bye" with a big smile on his face. I guess I just have to face the fact that my child is not the quiet story time type of kid...so off to the park we went...

Banana Breath

My beautiful son Nicholas is a freak about bananas. His first word was"na-na" (he still won't say "mama" not because he can't but he knows it irritates me). I almost named this blog Banana Breath, but the fact that the title was already taken leads me to believe that my son is not the only toddler who belongs in B.A. (bananas anonymous).

However, no matter how fast he consumes them there are still overripe mushy bananas on my counter every week. So my new mission has been finding recipes for these bananas that go beyond the tried and true banana bread. Last week I played around with different ideas and here is what I came up with-Chocolate Chip Banana Cookies! They are delicious. They reminded my husband Josh and I of muffin tops...that of course spurred a litany of funny titles for the recipe and a bunch of Seinfeld jokes...I used the tollhouse cookie recipe as a guide and adjusted things accordingly:

Nicholas' Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Top Cookies (still working on the name...)

2 sticks butter, room temp.
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. brown sugar
1 egg, room temp.
2-3 large bananas, ripe and mashed
1 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 C. flour, sifted
pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cake spice or cinnamon or a combo of nutmeg/cinnamon (whatever your taste)
2 C. chocolate chips (a whole bag)

*you could also add a cup of walnuts or pecans. I think the fluffyness of the cookie would have been good with a little nut crunch but i didn't want to add nuts for Nick...I thought coconut would have also been a nice twist as well.


1) Preheat oven to 350F. Cream the butter and the sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and continue to beat until fluffy.
2) In one small bowl mash the bananas and add baking soda.
3) In a larger bowl sift together the remaining dry ingredients (flour, salt, and spice)
4) Combine the mashed bananas with the butter mixture, mix, and then add the dry ingredients. Make sure everything is well incorporated but do not over mix. Then fold in your chocolate chips (nuts, etc.). (The batter will be looser than other cookie dough)
5)Drop 8-12 hefty dollops of batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 11-13 minutes until golden brown. Place on wire rack to cool. *Makes about 30 palm sized cookies.

*Just a note: These are large cookies so I would usually split one with Nick. I watch his sugar intake but I still think that a little sugar is good for the soul!

The Crock Pot cont.

I am pleased to report that my Crock Pot concoction that I called "Chicken and Biscuits" actually turned out to be Chicken and Biscuits! I don't know how I did it. Maybe it was the magical crock pot. Maybe it was the can of condensed cream of chicken and mushroom soup that makes everything tastes like home. Whatever it was it was good and I had more than half leftover to freeze. Here is what I did:

Carrie's Made Up Crock Pot Chicken and Biscuits

2-3 Frozen Chicken breasts
1 can condensed cream of chicken and mushroom soup
1 can of water (but I probably didn't need it)
2 cans chicken broth
Pepper
Salt
Oregano
Garlic Powder (all of these were just eyeballed until it seemed right)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
egg noodles
biscuits

I should have mashed potatoes too but that just seemed like carb overload...but I'll do it next time.

I preheated the crock poton high and added the first 8 ingredients and let it go for a few hours. I was worried to cook on low because of the frozen chicken, but those were cooked through in about an hour, so the low setting would work too. I put it all together at 10 am to serve dinner at 6pm, but it could probably have all been ready in less than three hours on high. About an hour before my husband got home I started the noodles, took out the chicken and shredded it with a fork, and added the cornstarch to the broth in the crock pot. I may have used a little more than two tablespoons to thicken all the sauce but I'm sure I didn't use more than three. After the sauce had thickened a bit I returned the chicken to the pot and added some mixed veges. I baked the biscuits, drained the egg noodles and put those in the gravy and then served. It was great and there was probably enough to feed 6.

As you can see, Nick, my 17 month old, loved it and found many uses for it as well. Is it a hat? Is it a conditioning hair mask? Is it a sign in baby culture that he is enjoying his meal?

So I did it and it...I faced my Crock Pot fears and it turns out that it's not that hard...and I'm not that bad of a cook! I'm glad I finally figured out a use for that lonely can of soup that had been in the back of cupboard for two years. Now what do I do with those chick peas?

The Crock Pot

Ok...so today I faced my fear. The dreaded Crock Pot... As a single girl I had little use for this elusive appliance. Waiting 8 hours for large batches of comfort food puzzled me and didn't fit into my spontaneous lifestyle. Undoubtedly, I never knew where I was going to end up in 8 hours...drinks? dinner with my boyfriend? a trip to the city for a last minute party or concert?...There was little monotony and certainly no planning ahead aside from choosing to wear heels or flats. Crock pots were for married women that went to the grocery store with lists longer than: 12 lean cuisines, Oreos, vodka. Crock pots were for women that brought unidentified casseroles adorned with cornflake toppings and catchy names to church events. Crock pots were for women who hosted Tupperware parties (Tupperware is a subject that I surely will cover in the future). With that in mind I never owned a crock pot or thought I ever would. I got married last year and on my wedding day I received a ring, a husband, and a crock pot. I wasn't surprised. In my mind it just went with the territory along with chip n' dips and decorative deviled egg holders. My crock pot went under my cupboard for a year to collect dust up until a month ago... to make some manly BBQ Pork. Pork and BBQ sauce didn't seem all that difficult and I thought I would even get a little creative with my spices. I covered the little 2 lbs. pork roast with cloves until it looked like a cross between a medieval mace and an Easter ham. After about an hour of cooking the house smelled like I had been chain smoking clove cigarettes and I knew for sure I had overdone it...So today, in my second attempt at long term cooking I am two hours into a concoction that will hopefully, in 5 more hours, resemble Chicken and Biscuits. I was going to share with you my wonderfully made up recipe (which earlier I was quite proud of). However, now that i have had time to think I am beginning to freak out just a little bit. All of my fears of failure are currently slow cooking in the crock pot. It will be 5 hours until I desperately search my husband's face for a tell-tale sign of culinary triumph or failure. He will have to choke down at least half of it before he has figured out just the right encouraging and diplomatic way to tell me that I should never do that again. I will let you know later how it turns out... or if anyone has been rushed to the hospital for an immediately stomach pump, in which case, I won't share the recipe.

The "Tah-Da" List

I once read in a "helpful tips about motherhood" type of article that instead of having a "To-Do" list one should have a "Tah-Da" list. Instead of writing a list of all the things you have to get done in a day write down all the things that you accomplished. I have done that today. And I tell you what...I have finished more tasks today than I have in months and all before 1pm! I cleaned the kitchen, bathroom, both bedrooms, fixed two meals, put my 16 month old down for a nap, read an article, planned a dinner party, cleaned up all the Easter evidence, finished a pot of coffee and started a blog! Ok, I know what your thinking...on a pot of coffee of course all that's possible! But i have a high tolerance for caffeine. I just have a problem with authority and there is something very authoritarian about a "To-Do" list. The "Tah-da" list somehow changed my mindset and made the chores for the day into a game..a relay race...whatever works right??