To infinity and beyond

He has started pretend play and it makes my heart smile. I love this kid so much.

He lives in a pineapple under the sea...

and I think you all know who I am talking about. I'm not sure exactly how he does it, but that little yellow talking sponge has mass appeal. I was talking to my dear husband the other day and he was like,
"I really like Spongebob." I laughed and said,
"Me too!" Who'd have thought the only TV show our entire family has ever agreed upon simultaneously would be about a yellow sponge?
Even my father-in-law watches the show.

I just don't have time to go into any real detail about my life because I am browning some hamburger. Please be patient with me and keep checking and I will post again soon!

A few things I never thought I would do.

1) Burn fish sticks. It's hard to mess up fish sticks. But when the fire alarm started going off from all the smoke I seriously thought it was just my dirty oven causing the smoke. Not the burned fish sticks.

2) Consider belly dancing lessons. Saw a belly dancing demo and it was cool. However, there is not a belly dancing studio in or near my village. Yes, village.

3) Consider pole dancing lessons. See #2.

I'm gearing up for another busy semester. Hope you all have a great week!

Baked Alaska

I just spent a very long day with my son. It was nice, as it usually is...but exhausting. He doesn't nap and he spent the last hour and a half talking. I mean we were lying in the dark, and he literally did not stop talking until I threatened to leave the room and shut the door.

What does a two year old have to say for an hour and a half? He talked about catching bugs in a net, and trains, and car washes, washing machines, his new 'catepillar dumper truck' and the snow. He talked about his aunts and uncles and cousins and daddy (who incidentally was at work still at 8:00 p.m.). It's hard to think of anything we didn't talk about. The uses of cars, refrigerators, and the oven. Which happens to be the reason I am writing this blog post.

He started talking about the oven and how he was going to use the oven and I reminded him that only Mommy and Daddy use the oven. I asked,

"What does the oven do?"
he said brightly,
"It makes food. It makes ice cream and I eat a little bit."

I thought he was confused and I said,

"No, you're thinking of the refrigerator. The oven is hot, it doesn't have ice cream in it."

And then I remembered.

Tony made Baked Alaska last week.

I keep trying to correct the kid but he always seems to be right.

Wonder who he gets that from?

Blinkered

For the first time, I took Holden to the store to buy himself a toy with the money he had saved in his piggy bank. He chose an 'Island of Sodor' mega blocks kit that he had been begging for and we brought it home. For two days he kept calling the little helicopter "Arrow." When it's actual name is Harold.
We kept correcting him.

"No, it's Harold. HHHHarold." We tried to correct him.

He would look at us and say brightly,

"Arrowd!"

He is pretty great at language for his age so I was stumped as to why he wouldn't say it right.
And then I realized that on the movie(s) of Thomas the train, the voice over is in a British accent.

So Holden is thinking we are crazy for calling the helicopter Harold when his actual name is pronounced
Arrowd!

Yum.

I went to the doctor yesterday and told her,

"I think I have a sinus infection. Gross mucus, pain in the face." And gestured to my face. She nodded. Not bored, really, but same old story.

"And my cheek inside my mouth hurts. Please look at it."

I think she thought I was being overly dramatic. I have a tendency to be a hypochondriac.

"Did you bite your cheek?"

"No. I think that is from my sinuses. My jaw hurts too. Kinda weird."

"Hmmm. It's been awhile since you've taken anything. I'm going to put you on something stronger."

"So is it from my sinuses then?"

"You definitely have an infection."

Now I can't remember where I was going with that story. But my face hurts.

So I'll post what I meant to post in the first place.

The Most Wonderful Recipe For Corn Casserole You Will Ever Eat
(A.K.A. Corn Casserole Paula Deen style)
(A.K.A. You may as well just eat the stick of butter)
(A.K.A. Holy Hell No Wonder You've Gained Weight Kara!)

1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (8-ounce) package corn muffin mix (recommended: Jiffy)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.


In a large bowl, stir together the 2 cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and melted butter. Pour into a greased 9 by 13-inch casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with Cheddar. Return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Let stand for at least 5 minutes and then serve warm.

Maybe If You Just Relax: Evelyn and Ainsley.