Works For Me Wednesday- Ziploc Omelets

Filed Under Food, Works For Me Wednesday | 6 Comments

I really can’t take credit for this at all. I got the idea from a good friend of mine and had to try it for myself. My problem with omelets is that they tend to stick to the pan, cook unevenly, and just be a pain to make and not worth the effort. This method is super easy, cuts down on the mess and makes them turn out great. Here are the details:

All you need to start out is one ziploc/zipper seal bag per omelet. I make a separate one for each of us so that I can customize the ingredients.

First you cook anything that you would normally cook before putting in the omelet- for this one, I chose to use green peppers because we had one left in the fridge. And let’s face it, usually omelet night means your fridge is close to empty and you are trying to avoid a trip to the grocery store. Or at least that’s what it means at the Stick house.

Open the ziploc bag and reach inside holding an egg. (This is really the only part that is AT ALL tricky, and that’s only for the first time). Once the egg is inside the bag, crack it open and throw away the shell.

I use two eggs for my omelet and three eggs for Jonathon’s. After the eggs are in there you can sit the bag somewhat upright. It helps to lean it against something. Pour in the amount of milk you would normally add for an omelet or scrambled eggs. Then seal the bag and knead it to “scramble” everything.

Open the bag, add all of your ingredients (for this one I used pepper, cheese, turkey, and tomato) and then seal and mix them together. Try to get all the air out of the bag. Also, if your husband is terrified of tomatoes or some other ingredient, be sure to mark your bag with a Sharpie in order to prevent a mix up.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and drop in the bags. They don’t have to be completely flat, and it’s okay if one covering the other. They will cook evenly regardless of how they are in the pot. (Yes, I was worried that they would melt, but they don’t, even if they are against the pan and not in the middle). I have found that 13 minutes is enough for the two egg omelet, but I leave the three egg omelet in for 15 minutes.

Remove CAREFULLY when they are done cooking (yes, I learned this the hard way) and let them cool for just a second before you open the bag and slide the omelet out onto the plate. It’s like magic. They come out perfectly cooked and shaped and fluffy, and the ingredients are mostly all in the middle!

Another wonderful tip- you can prepare the baggies during naptime or whenever you have a few minutes, and then just drop them in the pot at dinnertime!

Things I Love Thursday- Diet Coke Plus

Filed Under Food, Things I Love Thursday | 3 Comments

It is sad that my TILT is about soda. Seriously, lately I have been really tired (busy, busy) and have been running on caffeine a lot of the time. I am in love with Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte but I am sure most of you already know about that anyway. (Off topic, but did you know that about 600 Starbucks are closing between now and early 2009? Click here for a list of which locations).

Something less “popular” is Diet Coke Plus. It’s just regular Diet Coke with vitamins added to it. It tastes almost exactly the same, and I feel like I am doing something good for myself by drinking it Each 8 oz serving has 15% of the recommended daily intake of niacin, B6, and B12, and 10% RDI for zinc and magnesium. So, not wonderful, but better than nothing!

For more Things I Love Thursday, check out The Diaper Diaries

Wordless Wednesday- The Call of the Wild

Filed Under Food, Wordless Wednesday | 2 Comments

Before you think I am a weirdo, I have to tell you that Jonathan is the one who found these in the animal cracker bag and came running in with them. We both had a good laugh. Yep, we’re meant for each other.

Ice Cream Cone Cuteness

Filed Under Firsts, Food, Sixteen Months | 3 Comments

Bailey ate her first ice cream cone last weekend at Lion’s Choice. If you never go there, it’s worth it just for the ice cream. They have kids size cones (dipped) for 29 cents, and the non-dipped ones are like 15 cents or something. (Note: She has had ice cream before, just not in a cone!)

We got Bailey a regular one because I thought she would be a little bit weirded out by the chocolate on the outside. Sometimes she is funny about biting into things with different textures. Anyway she saw that Jonathan and I both had dipped cones so we had to trade. I tried to teach her how to stick out her tongue and lick but it didn’t work so well. I wish I had remembered that I had the camera as soon as she started eating it, but here she is about halfway through. I couldn’t decide on just a few pictures to post, obviously.

Also, Bailey seemed to like the cone better than the ice cream itself (which Daddy helped her eat) so I would like to try to make her those little cupcakes in an ice cream cone. I have looked on my regular recipes website but I would rather use a recipe that someone actually recommends because I have heard its hard to get them to turn out right. Anyone made these before?

Not having a camera, well it sucks

Filed Under Fifteen Months, Food, Grandparents, Outings, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

I am so used to photographing everything Bailey does. When she makes a new cute face, or does something funny, or gets a new outfit or new toy… last weekend I cut her hair in the back (about an inch off the bottom) and I didn’t have my camera. On Thursday, my parents watched her for the day. They took her to Build a Bear and she made a stuffed bunny. Now I am waiting to take a picture of her with her new bunny, whose name is Floppy. This is the best I can do at the moment.

I feel like I am letting these moments fly by, uncaptured. I want to remember every smile, laugh, hug, every moment. We were at my parents house last night for my mom’s birthday and I took a bunch of pictures with their camera so hopefully they will loan me the card soon so I can dump them on my computer. Here are some pictures from hanging out with my parents a few weeks ago. I didn’t even realize I had these because I saved them into the wrong folder and discovered them last night when I was uploading to Snapfish.

We took Bailey to a local kids museum and she loved it. We will probably get a membership this fall. She had a great time exploring and learning. They also offer toddler and preschool classes so we might sign up for some of those after we get our membership.

In this picture Grammy is showing Bailey how to fish. After the fish are caught (magnets on the end of strings) they can walk them upstream and drop them into a small pool, then watch them go back downstream through glass in the floor, all the way back to the fishing pond. It’s really cool!

All sweaty after playing outside

Eating her favorite food ever- fries!

Things I Love Thursday- BirdsEye Steamfresh Veggies

Filed Under Food, This Rocks | 6 Comments

I know these aren’t anything new, but they have been a lifesaver around our house in the past month or so. Bailey is very picky about eating veggies (aren’t most kids?) and so I find myself searching for new things to try or ways to disguise them. She had a long running love affair with canned green beans, but that ended. In our search to find new ideas, I cam across Birdseye Steamfresh Vegetables. I always thought they were “lazy” before, but I tried them and they are SO GOOD. They are usually less than $1 more than other frozen vegetables, and they don’t have that soggy mush taste to them.

So far we have tried green beans, peas, and a veggie mix and Bailey has eaten all of them most of the times they have been offered to her. Jonathon will even eat his vegetables because he likes them still a little crunchy. You can adjust the cooking time to get them as squishy as you want. And they are so convenient. Much better than buying (super expensive) fresh veggies and then waiting for the steamer.

For more things people love, check out The Diaper Diaries.

Fourteen Months

Filed Under Food, Fourteen Months, Talking | 2 Comments

Bailey,

Your fourteen month birthday was on Monday. Why does the time go so fast? I think I comment on that every month. You seem so grown up to me now. Your hair is long enough to go in a little ponytail on the top of your head, and right now your toenails are painted hot pink. You have four top teeth and almost three bottom teeth. I think you have some of your molars but I have learned not to poke my finger back there. You bite really hard.

You are walking and running and climbing now. You can almost get on the couch by yourself and I am dreading that day. You still don’t know not to just step off the edge of things. You are also quite the dancer. You love to twirl, even though you don’t turn around all the way yet. You stick your arms out and twist from side to side. You also bounce up and down and try to jump, but your feet don’t leave the floor.

You have really been enjoying going to the park lately and especially playing in the fountain. We did that twice this week. Your favorite food is pizza- you will eat like three pieces of Cecil Whitaker’s by yourself! You test everything first by putting it up to your lips. I’m not sure if you are checking the temperature or the smell or what. Once you press it against your lips for a minute you usually eat it. You also love just about any kind of rice. Here you are at El Nopal a few weeks ago, checking out the menu.

You are also developing a little more of a vocabulary now. Your words are:
buh-buh (bubbles)
mama or mom
dada or daddeeeeee
up (means up or down)
nananananana (?)
muh (more, which you sign more often than say)
jee-ja (Jesus)
booh (book)
hi
wuh wuh wuh wuh (dog barking)
gee (doggie and froggie)
gock (clock)
Obviously most of these still need translation for other people, but it is clear that you have definite words that you use for things now. I can’t wait until you start talking more, and more clearly. I am so curious what you have to say and what you think about.

You like to play with your Little People Zoo and your animal circus tent. You love to read, still. Current favorites are Very Hungry Caterpillar and your Little People book at Grammy’s house. You also like to push and sit on your stride-to-ride Lion but you can’t actually make him go when you’re sitting on him. You climb up in your rocking chair and sit to read. Each morning you run to our bathroom and try to get your dad’s toothbrush out of the cabinet before I can catch you. Because you want to suck the toothpaste out- ew.

You seem more “kid” than “baby” now. I am amazed at how fast you are changing and learning new things. I am just thankful that you still like to kiss your mommy and that you are so affectionate. It makes your big-girl-ness more bearable.

I love you forever and ever,

Mommy

Yucky Bagel

Filed Under Food, Thirteen Months | 5 Comments

This nastiness that Bailey is eating? A cheese onion bagel with spicy mustard. Really, her tastes never cease to amuse/amaze me. I had all kinds of healthy stuff on her tray but my mom was eating this (as the bottom layer to her sandwich, yuck) and Bailey decided she needed it. Also, Bailey has caught on to saying “mmmmmm” while eating.

But it’s funny things like this, that I will want to have a memory of when she is bigger.

Going Green- changes for a healthier lifestyle

Filed Under Food, Going Green, Shopping | 12 Comments

We are trying to eat healthier and live a more natural lifestyle. I read a blog post yesterday about this and it inspired me to write about what we’ve been doing.

The biggest change in our lives is probably the way we are eating. I have been more concerned with chemicals, pesticides, and hormones in our food. I used to think this was just silly, but the more I read, the more I care. A lot of things are too expensive to do organic, but we are really trying to do hormone free milk, beef, and chicken. Also something i just discovered- Sam’s has hormone free milk and it’s only $2.85 a gallon for whole milk! The hormone free whole milk at Trader Joe’s is $3.69 a gallon. I know it’s not as “good” as true organic but it’s what our budget can allow and it’s better than all the growth hormones. Schnucks has a brand called Full Circle and if the prices are comparable with “regular” food we have been choosing the Full Circle products instead.

I read an article about how to choose what items to do organic if you couldn’t afford to go all organic. Basically the gist of the article was that anything with growth hormones (meats and dairy) were the most important. Fruits with thick peels such as bananas and pineapples were the least likely to be contaminated. Here is a chart you can refer to if you care.

Natural cleaning products- Full Circle line from Schnucks or Method at Target. I have been cleaning more with baking soda and vinegar, thanks to my friend who told me how to do it! I really had no idea that you could use things like that to get your house clean! I would rather have Bailey sit in a tub that had been scoured with baking soda that a tub that had been filled with bleach and other chemicals. We use Full Circle Glass Cleaner with Vinegar (under $3), Full Circle dish soap ($1.99), and Full Circle laundry detergent ($3.99 for 30 loads I think). The only reason I am listing all the prices is that I thought “natural” automatically meant more expensive, but it doesn’t. You just have to be smart and shop around.
Another thing we are working on at our house is conservation. Well, this is really more me than Jonathon. I have always been on his case about leaving lights on and stuff like that. Another thing he will do is turn the shower on and then go do something else for a while and then come back and get in the shower. I have started turning the water off when he does this. This might sound cheesy, but I guess now that I have a kid I want the earth to still be liveable during her whole lifetime. I have also been trying to reuse more and not waste as many things or throw them away. I try to get almost all my books either used or at the library. (Well, I’ve always done that, but its less books that are printed!)

Our grocery store also started selling reusable shopping bags a while back, and we now have three of them. They are usually only $1.25 but they were on sale for $1 each a few weeks ago. They are so much nicer than plastic bags and they hold about three times as much. They have a square/flat bottom so they don’t tip over, and there is a handle that you can carry over your shoulder. Even if I wasn’t trying to be environmentally friendly, I would use these bags! Plus, did you know that one plastic bag takes like 500 years to decompose? Wow.

Anyway, I just wanted to share what we have been doing around here. What have you done or thought about doing? Any tips you want to share with me?

Messy Girl

Filed Under Food, Thirteen Months | 8 Comments

Eating one of her new favorite foods- cottage cheese

Uh oh!

Identity Revealed

Filed Under Food | 1 Comment

It’s Hunan Express, a little carryout place at Baxter and Manchester in that shopping center with Madison’s Cafe or whatever it happens to be this week. We have gone there for years, like at least once a week. It was always great. Well we noticed within like the last six months, the food hasn’t been as good. Then my mom felt sick after eating there a while ago and now us. It’s too bad. We’re thinking they must have gotten a new cook or something.

Ban on Chinese Food

Filed Under Complaining, Food | 4 Comments

Last time my mom went to our favorite Chinese carryout place, she felt horrible afterwards. Last night I ate their with a friend and then brought food back for Jonathon. I felt a little queasy in the evening but then I was fine. He ate his food later and was up off and on with an icky tummy. He finally threw up this morning and feels better. I’m blaming it on the food. I don’t think we will be going there again. Which sucks because it was our favorite place

Our day with Alison

Filed Under Food, Outings, Twelve Months | Leave a Comment

Here are some pictures from Friday, when I watched Alison. I really don’t look forward to the days I watch her, to say the least. I watch her between one and three Fridays a month. It is really hard because, well, she is used to being the center of everyone’s attention (grandma watches her on other days) and so she kind of has issues with Bailey. Also they have a really big old house with a basement and three other floors, so lots of stairs/nothing babyproofed or gated/too many dangerous things. It is a long day when I’m there. On Friday I didn’t care WHAT we did, I just had to get out of the house. We were going to go to Monkey Joe’s, but when we got there it wasn’t open yet so I just took them to the mall instead.

We played in the play area

We went on some rides

We went to lunch at Chevy’s and they OPENED LATE. I know that sounds minor, but when you have two very hungry kids, one of whom needs to use the potty and the other who has a very wet, borderline leaky diaper, it’s a big deal. It was 15 freaking minutes after they were supposed to open. We stood and watched this stupid demo about acne treatments and then I let Bailey and Alison play in the camera shop thing next door.

Here is Bailey enjoying her lunch. She loves Mexican food, especially rice. And the spicier, the better. I was surprised she didn’t try to eat the tortilla dough that they give the kids to play with. Alison eats at Chevy’s all the time and she totally knows better… but she said to me, “Hey, is Bailey going to eat her bread?” I was like “What???” She said, “I already ate my bread. Can I have Bailey’s?” Nice.

B also loves sour things like lemons and pickes. I tried to capture the sour face She ate three lemon wedges (and half the peel on one of them!)

Bailey’s Birthday Party

Filed Under Bailey's Birthday, Family, Food, Friends, Gifts, Grandparents, Twelve Months | 3 Comments

I guess it is time that I post pictures from Bailey’s party. I really feel okay about it. We had a good turnout with lots of friends there. The food was decent (just stuff I put together like a fruit bowl, veggie tray, watergate salad, chips and dip, etc). Her cake turned out cute even though she wouldn’t eat it. There weren’t any disasters, just a clingy, teething baby.

Bailey with my mom and our neighbor Jeannette

Friends Amy and Kaitlynn

Opening presents

See the little flower thing she has in her hand? She’s obsessed with it and takes it everywhere with her. That and the wand for the bubbles that Kelli gave her.

Bailey loves balloons. She has started trying to say “balloon.” She points to them and says “Buv!”

Sharing her toys with AJ, my friend Jen’s little boy

With my college roommate, Sarah

Birthday cake

We stripped her down to her diaper just in case she decided to eat her cake…

But she didn’t! She wanted nothing to do with it and cried until I got her out of her high chair.

Here she’s signing that she wants out

She’s glad all that nonsense is over so she can sit by herself and play her xylophone!

Happy birthday, sweetheart. We’ll try the cake again someday. If you’re anything like your mama, you will love cake with buttercream icing!

Mmmm pizza!

Filed Under Food | 2 Comments

I am getting ready to go to a focus group, where I get paid to taste-test pizza. Which is only my favorite food. How lucky can I get?