Picky, picky, picky!

I have a picky eater.  My oldest daughter is the QUEEN of picky eaters.   Let's see....she eats chicken fingers, peanut butter sandwiches with no crust, pretzels, and, ummmm... hmmm...well, that's about it.  Since I decided that opening my own restaurant in my kitchen wasn't so much fun, she must eat whatever is served.  And I'm a reasonable mom.  I don't cook liver and onions and say, "Too bad!  Eat it and like it!" 
I get the picky thing.  I was once a picky eater, too.  Princess Picky, but definitely not QUEEN Picky. 
Breakfast has been quite the challenge.  She knows she must eat a protein with her daily waffle or pancake, but it is always a fight.  I end up serving a nice glass of milk to her protests.  I'm sooooo immune to the protests, by the way.  These occur at every, and I mean EVERY, meal.  The ironic thing about the QUEEN is that she is super sick of her limited diet.  She chooses it because she refuses to try anything new. 
So, you can imagine my excitement when I came across this:

Pancakes with protein?  Yippy!  Of course, I was sceptical.  The QUEEN doesn't usually take to my brilliant healthy ideas.  Can you imagine my sigh and smile when she said she actually like them?  

To summarize:  

If you have super picky eaters in your home, Chef Jay's High Protein Pancake and Waffle mix will put a smile on Kings and Queens of picky and the moms who love them.



Bailey

Our dear Bailey is slowing down. She is a 10 year old chocolate lab. Although she is in great shape, I can see the signs of old age upon her. She moves slower, sleeps longer, and doesn’t hear us so well anymore.
Those that have known me a long time will not believe it when I say I really do love this dog. She was a complete maniac a little hyper as a pup. It lasted 7 years. 7 YEARS!!! We took her to puppy training where she was the worst dog in the class. She bit, jumped, scratched, and destroyed a screen door. The trainer would say, “Squirt lemon juice in her mouth when she tries to bite.” Guess who liked lemon juice? “When she jumps at you, knee her in the chest.” What?? “When she shows aggression, pin her to the floor and stare into her eyes.” Ugh. It felt as though I was abusing this dog. My colleagues would cringe at the training we were advised to do. After reading some training books, we found that you had to go to extreme training with extreme behavior. All I wanted was a cute chocolate puppy that adored me. Oh, and did I mention that we got a pure bred chocolate lab for $200? Warning sign!!! Did I mention that we did zero research before getting a lab? Did you know that labs are really hyper for about 7…GASP..7 years? AND, you can get a field lab or a show lab. A show lab is a bit hyper as a puppy, but mellows with age and is a loyal family dog. A field lab, bread to hunt all day long, is REALLY hyper for about 7 years. Can you guess which type of lab we ended up with?
I’m going to give myself a little credit. I did watch a show that discussed a great way to pick a puppy.
1. Hold the puppy up and stare into its eyes. If it doesn’t move, it is submissive. If it wiggles, it is dominant.
2. Gently pin the pup to the ground. If it doesn’t move….you get the picture.
I picked up one of 13 identical looking puppies and stared into its pretty blue eyes. No movement. Good sign! I picked up pup #2, looked into its beautiful blue eyes….nothing. Hmmm. I started to see some holes in this technique. Gently pinning them to the ground had the same results. Quiet, cute, pot bellied puppies. All 13 of them.
Here’s what they all looked like:

Doesn’t she look sweet, docile, the best? You can easily see how I was so smitten and fooled.
It’s really easy to forget those first crazy years now, though. All 3 of my children have used her as a jungle gym loved her, tortured played with her, and laughed as she caught every single Frisbee thrown. She has tolerated and loved them. She follows me everywhere. Did I say I wanted that quality? It’s really annoying endearing.
Here is Bailey now:

See her tired grey face? She’s such a good girl. We love you, Bailey Girl!

Hand Painted Signs

I am dabbling with sign painting. I painted this one awhile ago:

I really enjoyed painting it, but can't find a place to hang it. Still working on that!
I had an idea for another sign that I do have a place to hang....above these pics of #1, 2, and 3...

Cute pics, right? Love them. My father-in-law took the pictures. He's so good with the camera.
So I had this idea to paint the following sign to hang above my cuties:

I love my little John Lennon tribute, but found the other side lacking. So, I added a treble clef and a few little notes. Here is the final product:

I love this project and know the sign will make that wall complete. I'll post a final pic when it's hung. Soon!!!

(This post can also be found on my craft site: http://www.fiftytwocrafts.com/).

Beach Reading

I just finished reading The Hunger Games trilogy. I feel obsession pulsing through me! It is a young adult fiction series, and it is fabulous. Well, almost. The first book got me completely hooked, I loved the second (Catching Fire), and felt a slight disappointment with the third book in the series, The Mockingjay. It has action, a heroine (YaY!), and a love story. The problem for 40 year old lovely young me…it really is a young adult series. It is appropriate reading for young adults. For the mature wiser woman, it leaves you wanting more. More details about the sex love. (Can you tell that I'm loving striking my words?)

I'm not the only one loving this series. Check out http://raegunwear.blogspot.com/2011/05/show-and-tell-mockingjay-shirt.html/. She created a great t-shirt. Love it!

For a good vacation read that doesn't require too much focus (great for moms with littles), it is a wonderful choice. I read all 3 of them over a 3 day period and had time to look for shells with Punkin, float with Mister Man, and splash with Peach in the baby pool.

And….Stay tuned for the movie.

I love the choice for Katniss and Gale. Not so sure about Peeta, though. They need an innocent blonde for that part. We'll see.

Anyhoo, I love reading during the summer months and welcome recommendations.

-MB