ALMOST READY FOR OUR COMEBACK!

Hey there!! Wow, have I been horrible about blogging this summer...

Kinley and I have been concentrating on playing outside and going to the zoo like it's our job, and haven't had much time for blog-worthy activities, I guess.

We will be back in September with a whole bunch of new stuff, recipes, lists of favorites, and a recap of all of our adventures that I have been too tired/lazy to share.

Summer vacation is coming to an end and we are getting ready to give home-preschool a go! Anybody have any thoughts about important things to focus on for kiddos who are two-ish? 

We sure hope you've had an awesome, adventure-filled summer!! 

See you in September :)

WE NEED A SCHEDULE

Yesterday was kind of awful.

We got up at noon, ate lunch, and went to Sam's Club. All of that was smooth sailing and, bonus, Kinley fell asleep in the car on the way home.

I smoothly transferred her from her car seat to her crib and she didn't even open her eyes a teensy crack! I patted myself on the back on my way downstairs, made plans in my head to finally get the mop out, and headed back out to the garage to unload the ginormous bag of tortilla chips, jug of salsa, and 5 lb flat of strawberries. No sooner had I put one foot back in the house, she woke up. Screaming. 

Sigh.

It was pretty much like all the days we've been having lately. SuperBaby has come to the conclusion that naps are lame and unnecessary, so she will no longer be participating.

Unfortunately, after 4 or 5 major meltdowns yesterday, it seems she clearly still needs a nap. 

She cried when I used the word "scoot" while we were playing. I'm assuming that was because that is also the word I use to tell her to back away from the oven when I am removing hot things from it, and just like her momma, Kinley does not like to be bossed.

She cried while I mopped because, although she could see me, I was more than 5 feet from her.

She cried because I turned on the shower, peeled a banana without her, drew a puppy with sidewalk chalk, helped her open a flap in her Spot book, and ate the Teddy Graham she shoved in my mouth. No explanation for any of these.

Needless to say, it was a long and patience-trying day. And the two before it were exactly the same. Something had to give.

Duh. She needs a schedule!

I know how important schedules are to littles, so why it didn't occur to me until breaking point to make one for Princess SuperBaby is beyond me. Now that it has occurred to me though, I am not wasting another precious day!

First of all, getting up at noon (or 1:00) is over. Sorry, Kin. You can do that again on  weekends in 15 years. I think 10:00 sounds perfect.

And I know we need books/songs/flashcards time, sensory/art time, and tons of play/outside time. Plus, we definitely need NAP TIME. Period.

Here's our first tentative schedule:

10:00   Wake-up/brush teeth/clothes on

10:30   Breakfast

11:15   Books/songs/flashcards

12:00   Playtime 

1:30     Lunch/TV time

2:30     Playtime

4:00     Nap

5:00     Sensory/art or playtime

6:15     Walk with Daddy

7:00     Dinner

8:00     Bath

8:45     Hang out with Mom and Dad

10:00   Bedtime

This is my wishful thinking schedule, so I'm already guessing a lot will change, but we needed a jumping-off point.

I'm also assuming the first couple of weeks are going to continue to be fussy and awful, but hopefully Kinley will catch on quickly and we will both be so much happier.

Fingers crossed!

Just in case this plan fails and the screaming continues, I'm gonna head back to Sam's Club today and pick up an economy sized jug of wine and bottle of Tylenol. This time I'll know not to get my hopes up if she falls asleep in the car. :)

ADVENTURES WITH AUNT PEANUT

I met my best friend Miranda (Mir or Peanut, for short) in a mutually detested math class my sophomore year of high school. Our teacher was a complete weirdo who spent most of the year sitting at his desk working on love poems and paper roses for his girlfriend, which left us tons of time to chat and realize just how much we had in common. 

Ever since that fateful first day of class, we have been inseparable. My parents moved to Ohio at the end of our junior year and Mir's mom let me move into her older brother's vacant room for the summer because we just didn't know how we could survive without each other. 

We spent that summer getting into trouble, singing Janet Jackson and DMB at the top of our lungs, turning into lobsters at the public pool, and having the time of our lives. It was life-changing for me, and  it transformed us from best friends into sisters.

We've been through a whole heck of a lot together--boy problems, friend problems, bonfires, hometown drama, concerts, baseball games, my Vegas wedding, backyard Buckeye tailgating, the birth of Kinley, random dance parties, ugly cries, Chinese food eating contests...you name it.

And even though everything has changed since we met, she's still the first one I call when I have big news or need to vent. She's my Peanut. My Mirmaid. My person (in Grey's Anatomy speak.)

MONTEREY CHICKEN

Hi guys...we're back! Aunt Peanut came to visit so I took the weekend off from the blog. I'm working on another post about our adventures, but I just couldn't wait to share this chicken recipe with you first. 

We've made it before, but I forgot just how delicious it is! It's definitely one of the best main dishes I've ever pinned. The original recipe is from All Things Simple and I didn't change anything other than not pounding the chicken flat because we grilled it outside instead of George Foreman-ing it. Completely perfect!

BEST STAIN-FIGHTER EVER.

My aunt Becky is a true SuperMom. She is my Yoda and Mr. Miyagi, my mentor and hero. She has been an amazing stay-at-home momma of 7 awesome kids for the past 18 years, during which time she has done countless crafts, kissed bajillions of boo-boos, home schooled, read thousands of stories, and cleaned more stains out of adorable outfits than she cares to remember, I'm sure. 

When I first became a momma, she passed on a laundry secret that she had only just recently accidentally found. That no-fail stain remover, miracle in a bar form, super cheap and super old school tip was Fels-Naptha. Becky originally bought the soap to make her own laundry soap (I told you she is amazing,) like the Duggars, but decided to try it on a particularly tough stain and, voila! Gone like magic. 

I've tried this stuff on every kind of stain--baby poop (anything that removes baby poop deserves it's own post, right?) berries, blood, chocolate, carpet stains, paint, you name it. It's even worked on a few stains that I didn't notice until they had already been washed and dried. It's seriously a miracle. And if you have a Kroger near you, it's in the laundry soap aisle for less than $3. I've been using the same bar at least once a week since my aunt Bea told me about it over a year ago. 

Wanna see it in action? Kinley just happened to smash some of her breakfast yogurt on her sweatpants this morning, which made me think to pass on this tip. Thanks, SuperBaby. I just buy her the organic french vanilla whole milk yogurt in the giant container and mix in different fresh or frozen fruits myself, which is usually handy and perfect, but on blueberry yogurt day she always manages to mush at least a couple of those super-stainy things on some part of her outfit.

So here's her breakfast pants:

I just keep a little square container in the bathroom at all times with a scrub brush and my bar of miracle soap. The only thing I do is get the stains wet under warm water and rub the bar vigorously on them until they are saturated with soap. Sometimes the stains change color, especially on white clothes, which seems like isn't a good sign, but I've never had one that changed color not come out, so don't panic.

Now, just plug up the sink and let your stained things soak with the soap all mushed in them. I find it requires less scrubbing if you use enough soap to make the soaking water murky, like this:

You can let it soak for as long as you want. I've left things for hours when I've gotten busy and forgotten about them, but I would say you probably wouldn't wanna do it any less than 30 minutes. When you get back, the water usually has a film on top. Not sure why, looks gross, but again, it's not a bad thing.

Just wring them out and take a peek. If you still see any staining, just repeat the process and this time scrub the stains with a nail brush or something like that before soaking again. These pants came out perfectly without extra scrubbing, which is usually the case. TA-DA!!

After you are satisfied that the stain has been obliterated, just throw them in the wash with everything else. Easy-peasy. 

Fels-Naptha has saved so many of Kinley's cute tiny little clothes over the months, it wouldn't be right to keep this miracle laundry secret to myself. I'm thinking about throwing a bar of it in every baby shower present I give from here on out. It's like my duty. Kind of like pay it forward in a poo/vom/blueberries removal way. 

Happy Stain-Fighting, Friend!