Easy Enchies

This recipe is officially my first ever recipe I came up with on my very own.  I developed it while Josh was deployed [therefore I had a lot of time to get it right], and I think it's time to finally share it!  I originally designed it using flour tortillas, and over the last year or so I've worked out ways to adapt it using corn tortillas.  In theory, it should be an easy transition, right?

If you've ever had corn tortillas, you know how easily they rip apart. Getting them to roll up and stay rolled can be a royal pain.

Usually I end up just making more of a enchilada casserole, but last night, the tortillas actually stayed rolled - so I figured it deserved taking a picture of.

Okay, enough! Recipe time!

Easy Enchies
[a recipe by lil' old me]

Time: 30 minutes or less
Makes: 5 corn enchiladas

Ingredients

• 10 corn tortillas [if you do happen to want to make this with flour tortillas, you only need 5]
• 1 [8 oz] bag shredded mexican cheese 
• 1 [15 oz] can enchilada sauce
• 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

Instructions

[1] Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 casserole dish.

[2] Layer 2 corn tortillas together, off-set, to make them the length of the casserole dish.

[3] In your two-becomes-one corn tortilla, put in a small handful of chicken and cheese, and 3 spoonfuls of enchilada sauce.

[4] Roll tortillas, place in your casserole dish, and repeat steps 2-4 for the rest of your tortillas.

[5] Pour the rest of the sauce over the rolled tortillas, then spread the leftover cheese on top of that.

[6] Cook enchiladas for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling.

Serve with sour cream and/or guacamole.

*Note: reheatability is high.  I would make a batch of eight for myself during the deployment days and just keep heating up one or two for dinners over the next few days.

*Another note: we made these using leftover crockpot chicken from this recipe I raved about once upon a time.  I'm still raving here - it was a great alteration that I may consider making into the standard.

My C-Section Story - Part 1

First things first - there is stuff written in here that is probably not suitable for all audiences, being that it is a written birth story account.  If you would rather not know that kind of information about me, then its probably best to head over here and watch this hilarious video.

I have no intention of scaring anyone with my story. I simply want to share my story for three reasons: one, to get it out of my head and down permanently.  I hope through this I will be able to sleep better at night.  Two, I want to have the memories recorded before I forget any more.  Third, I hope that somehow I can encourage some one else through my story so that they may not feel so alone.

While going through the physical and emotional healing process of my c-section was very hard for me, I am thankful that they do exist.  And while it is easy for me to wonder if I could have done things differently and avoided having one, reality is that I made the best choices at the time with the information I was given.  Ultimately, I know that no one was at fault - my c-section was simply a part of living in a broken world. 

Science says that women forget the pain of labor after the fact [so that they will be willing to go through with giving birth again], but I'm pretty sure I remember it well enough.  Well enough that I don't ever, ever, ever want to go through induced labor again. Good news, I won't ever have that pleasure again, because any doctor with any sense will never let me attempt a VBAC through induction. So that simplifies things. But there are things I remember pretty well.

I remember that I started dilating at 36 weeks.  About 1 cm each week, each week hearing the same thing from the midwife: "it's no guarantee, but I wouldn't be surprised if you had your baby this week."  By 41 weeks, I was 4 cm dilated [and 75% effaced, if you care to know]. My "latent labor," or early labor, lasted for over a month.

So what was the deal? The contractions never stuck. They would come and go, getting worse if I walked or did any of the other "labor inducers," but within an hour or two, they would always quit.

I remember the most discouraging time happened three or four days after my due date, when I really thought it was time.  We went for a walk and timed contractions the whole time - every minute, hard and fast.  We had dinner plans and decided to go ahead with dinner and see if the contractions would keep up, honestly hoping we would be going straight from the restaurant to the hopsital.  I remember as soon as I sat down in the car, the contractions stopped.  I was crushed all through dinner and for the rest of the night.

I remember scheduling an induction "just in case" during my 39 week appointment.  I really never thought I would be needing it.  But at my 41 week appointment, I remember just being so ready to be done and have my little girl out that induction actually sounded like a great idea.  I felt that suffering through an induced labor was going to be so noble.

I remember the day of induction, I called right at 7 a.m. to see if labor and delivery were ready for me.  They were not.  We went to the hospital for a routine stress test a couple hours later, and while we were there we stopped by labor and delivery to see if they were ready yet.  They said maybe, but to come back in an hour.  I remember eating Subway in the cafeteria, thinking this might be my last meal. We went back up, and asked again. Again, their answer was no.

I don't remember what my last meal before motherhood was, but I remember spending it that night with my parents, husband, and friends [who were moving the next morning].  I remember getting the phone call at 7 p.m. from labor and delivery. They were finally ready for me, but I needed to be there soon.  My friend, a mother herself, told me to go take a shower - now.  I would be glad I had done it by the time my daughter was born.  I remember hugging her tightly, realizing I would probably never see her again.  I would have to have my child before 10 a.m. the next day in order for them to see us again.  I prayed that I would have my baby before then.  I thought I could - I was 4 cm dilated, after all.

I remember going to the hospital and getting admitted.  I remember the nurse talking with us about how induction would work, and her writing down Adelle's name on the board.  I think at that moment, the reality of what I was about to do really hit me.  That name was going to be my child soon.

I remember telling the nurse that I had intended on having a natural birth when I gave then my birthing plan, and she asked me if I really wanted to do an induction - I didn't have to go through with it tonight. I was so shocked that I froze for a second.  I remember almost saying, "actually, I want to go back home."  But I didn't.  I had geared myself up for two days for this induction, and I just needed to get this over with and get my baby girl in my arms.

I remember getting set up for induction [IV meds, continuous fetal monitoring, blood pressure cuff] and then being told that they were going to start the pitocin slowly.  "Get some sleep."  It was 10 p.m. at this point. I was so excited I couldn't sleep for another hour.  Within two hours, I couldn't sleep even if I wanted to.  The contractions would wake me up every 5 minutes, on the dot.

I remember being good about going pee every couple of hours [thank you, IV meds], and having to unstrap the blood pressure cuff, unplug the fetal monitors from the machine, and drag the IV bag all the way to the bathroom and back.  I remember fumbling with all the tubes and trying to keep my IV site dry while I washed my hands.  I remember thinking how ridiculous this whole thing was, and how badly I wished I didn't need all of it.

I remember waking Josh up around 3 in the morning because i couldn't sleep anymore. We watched the only good thing on tv for a little while in the rocking chair - I Love Lucy.

I remember being told that there were birthing balls and other helpful apparatuses in the locked closet in our room.  I remember wishing they didn't lock the closet.  I didn't want to call a nurse just to unlock the closet for me.  Because of that, I never used a birthing ball, or anything else, really.  I wish now that I had.

I remember that morning came, and contractions were intense, but manageable.  The midwife on call came in and told me that I was ready to have my water broken.  I went ahead with it.  As soon as my water broke, the pain became unbearable.  I remember thinking that standing up and walking would help the pain.  I remember the nurse's face when I told her I wanted to walk around the room.  She gave me a dirty look and told me to wait until she could put and absorbant pad down on the floor.  She gave me a 2x3 foot space to walk in.

I lasted one more contraction standing up, then begged for IV pain meds. I felt like such a failure, but I felt so out of control each time the pain hit.  I would panic, wanting to make it go away, and having no idea what to do.

I remember realizing that all the pain meds would do would make me black out between contractions.  I remember coming back into consciousness with each contraction, counting the seconds until the pain would go away.

I remember, during one contraction, physically trying to move myself away from the source of the pain, and realizing it was in me; I was stuck with it. At that point, I knew I had to figure out how to make it through these contractions.  The only way I could was by yelling.

The nurse at one point told me I was probably having back labor - my baby was facing sunny-side up.  She said they could inject my lower spine with saline to try and get her to turn around.  They didn't know why it worked, but it usually did the trick.

It didn't work for me.

I remember the nurse or midwife [who specifically, I don't know] telling me that I was close, and to let them know when I starting feeling the urge to push.  As soon as she was done talking, I felt it.

Time stopped when I started pushing. And the harder I pushed, the less pain I felt.  It was amazing.

I remember being told that she was crowning.  Then being told that her hand was covering her face, like she was shielding her eyes from the light.  They pushed her hand back down repeatedly, but she would get it back up there each time.

I remember trying my hardest, trying to get her to come out, rotating side to side, pushing from evey position I could manage.  Nothing worked. At one of the most discouraging moments, I remember looking at my thighs, while pushing, and thinking how fat and ugly they were.

I remember being told that it had been over two hours.  I could keep going as long as I wanted, but in the interest of my safety and the safety of my baby, would I consider a c-section at this point?  I was exhausted. Pushing was getting so futile.  I said yes.

The midwife said I could keep pushing until I left the room for surgery.

It took another hour of last ditch efforts and signing papers before they started wheeling me out.  I remember the OB who did my surgery was horrified whenever he watched me push inbetween signing papers. I remember that all the nurses watched me as I was wheeled down the hall.  I realized that, to them, I was that poor girl who had been screaming all morning.  I remember giving them one last yell down the hall because I had forgotten how much the contractions hurt now that I couldn't push anymore.

I remember getting into surgery and being told by the anesthesiologist that the spinal injection was going to hurt, but not to move if I could help it.  I didn't feel it go in.  The anesthesiologist later told me he'd never seen anyone take that injection so well.  I didn't tell him it was because the contraction I was in the middle of masked the pain.  I remember that I didn't feel another contraction again. I was so thankful. I remember my feet burning up from the anesthesia, and seeing them jab my legs and not feeling a thing.

I remember them strapping my arms down, and realizing that I wasn't going to get to hold my baby after she would be born.  I think that hurt more than anything else I experienced that day.  I remember Josh finally coming in after what felt like forever, looking concerned and worried.

I remember feeling the surgeon open me up and pull out my baby - I think he even lifted my rear off the table at one point. It felt like someone was aggressively rifling through a fanny pack I was wearing tightly around my waist.  I remember waiting the infinite seconds for her to cry - "it's a girl!" - and then, over the intercom, Twinkle Twinkle played.  The hospital played that song to announce that a baby - my baby - had been born, via c-section, her life saved from otherwise probable death.  I bawled every time I heard that song for months.

I remember waiting another infinity while they checked her vitals.  I couldn't see any of it, because it was all done behind the blue curtain.  I don't know if I could have seen it anyway through the tears.

I remember the first time I saw her.  The poor child had spent three hours pushed against my pelvis, and her face was swollen.

I remember her leaving with Josh, then staring at the ceiling for the last infinity I would experience that day.  I remember the anesthesiologist talking to me, wiping my tears, telling me nice and heroic things. I remember losing consiousness repeatedly, whether from the drugs or sheer exhaustion I don't know.

And then, after 11 hours of labor, 3 hours of pushing, 1 hour of surgery, and almost 2 hours of being sewn up, I met my daughter. And she was worth each moment of the last 48 hours of my life.

Head over here for part two of my story.

Our Fifth Anniversary

Wanna hear something crazy?  We've been married for five years.  We're, like, official or something now.

These knitted beauties came from the in-laws for this anniversary.  "Two became one flesh, then had a big-bellied baby." Uncanny representations of us, dontcha think?

We decided to go family-friendly this year and spend our anniversary at the aquarium!

It took a few minutes to convince Kiddo that she was safe.  Josh's fish faces were a huge help.

She soon took to pointing at everything.

Her favorite spot was the jellyfish section.

She also got to pet this starfish, which she thought only deserved a single finger pet. Splashing in the water was far more appealing.

And for dinner [courtesy of my parents!] we went to dinner at Ted's Hot Dogs.  Best charcoal grilled hot dogs I've ever had... and they even serve 'em on gluten-free buns.

It was the best shot we could get.

A huge thanks to everyone who has supported and loved us while we've learned how to be married these last five years!

The Week's Menu

I bet you've been waiting for this moment.

Just kidding.

Here's another week's menu of pretty yummy, gluten-free meals!

Crockpot Pork Roast

We made this pot roast based off of the link above - but we overdid it on the spices.  The original recipe is designed for the oven, so to adapt it to the crockpot, we added 1 cup of veggie oil.  Again, we overdid it.  Our faults aside, I like this recipe for it's simplicity of ingredients and steps.  We just added sweet potatoes to the crockpot and served it with apples and rice. I'm pretty sure this recipe is actually really good, because all three of us happily ate through our slightly-too salty meat and potatoes. I recommend following the measurements better than we did.  And half the vegetable oil.

Sweet Chili Lime Tofu

What's to hate about tofu? If it's not the [lack of] flavor, its the squishy consistency. That being said, you must try this recipe.  Or come over and let me make it for you.  This blog has cooking tofu figured out so its not so squishy - she spells out the details of dry frying in the recipe.  And the chili lime sauce is, well, again, you have to try it.  You won't be disappointed.  To make sure the recipe is gluten-free, use Tamari sauce instead of soy.

Note for mamas: this is an intensive recipe.  I recommend making this on a night when the hubby is home to manage children.

Note for everyone: don't go off my picture to decide if it's any good. Click on the link to see appropriately delicious pictures of this appropriately delicious meal.

Beef Stew

Another great Pinterest find that is super adaptable to what you have in your fridge.  I used some already cooked roast beef I had and added bratwursts.  The original recipe has a part where you add flour to thicken the soup.  I just omitted that part and added all the broth in at the beginning.

Dessert? Homemade Chocolate Freezy Goop

Chocolate Magis Shell sauce is hands down my favorite of all time ice cream topping.  It's also a bit pricey, especially when you go through the bottles as quickly as I do.  I found this recipe for the homemade version and knew I had to try it out.  Whether this recipe actually saves money, I'm not sure - coconut oil and chocolate bars aren't exactly cheap either.  But if you're a fan of knowing what's going into your stomach, this is a great alternative.  My personal recommendation - vanilla ice cream with fresh strawberries, topped with this baby.  The best.

Busy Bags

Have you heard of busy bags?

Essentially, a busy bag is an activity for a young child to do, where all the supplies for said activity fits inside a bag or container.  There are variations all over the map, but the point is that the supplies are containable and travel easily for use on road trips, flights, church events, so on and so forth.  Busy bags are usually handmade and geared towards children between 2 and 5 years old [you know, the busy ones].

This weekend, my friends came up with the idea to do a busy bag exchange party.  We all picked a busy bag activity, got enough supplies to make enough of our activity for each mom, and then had a get together and made them.

The verdict from this mom is a thumbs up.  While Kiddo is not quite ready for most of the activities that were made, I was a huge fan of spending time socializing and making stuff with friends, sharing a variety of bag ideas that I probably wouldn't have chosen on my own, and coming home with a bunch of loot.  I felt like a kid at Halloween or a birthday party.

While there was an upfront cost of supplies [such as $12 worth of Crystal Light containers], reality is I probably spent less than I would have getting all the supplies to make each individual bag idea myself.  And for a lot of my friends, they had most of the supplies on hand, so the cost was virtually nothing.

Okay, on to the interesting part!  We didn't come up with these ideas ourselves, so below the pictures are links to where the ideas originated.

Cupcake Busy Bag

Um , can you say adorable?  I think I will be playing with these felt cupcakes long before my child ever gets the chance.

Foam Shape Patterns

An activity for the "older" crowd that can start to understand patterns, shapes, and matching them. Making this project is undeniably one of the easiest.  All you need are construction paper and foam stickers. Stick half the pattern down, and leave the other half of the pattern free for you child to match up themselves.

Pipe Cleaner Color Sort

This activity was my choice - I think what drew me to it was that it was the only one I could find that adapts to a child's developmental levels, starting at one years old.   The idea is that your child can start out just putting pipe cleaners in the container, then start working on fine motor skills and thread the pipe cleaners through random holes, and eventually graduate into color matching. Not going to lie, though, getting holes punched through the container lids was a royal pain.  If you're planning on using Crystal Light containers [like I did], don't try to use a hole punch.  Just go for broke and get an awl.

Number Wheel

Another good matching game for older kids who are starting to understand numbers and counting.  I think I've got a couple years to practice my counting skills before I have to hand it over to Kiddo.

Jan Brett Animal Matching Game

Please tell me you remember reading Jan Brett as a child.  The side stories through her illustrations is nothing short of brilliant.  This activity is making a matching game using the animal characters from her books.  At this point, Kiddo will probably just being using them in the near future as flash cards to work on her animal sounds and [maybe] names.

ABC Match

I couldn't find a link to this specific activity, but I think you will get the idea quickly with the picture.  The name of the game is to the match upper and lower case letters.  To make, you simply write the upper and lower case on each side of a card [cool shaped ones are obviously better] then cut the card in half.  Easy peasy.

Counting Activities

Sorry, no link again, but I'm pretty sure this one was actually self-inspired.  Essentially, half of the bag is full of different items in groups of six that can be counted.  The other half has 3-piece puzzles with the numbers [1, 2, 3] written on the backs to match up.

Fun, no?

Blowing Bubbles

One of my favorite moments captured for blogging history.

Cloth Diapers at 15 Months

Another month down... already!  Getting each month written here for posterity [if for nothing else] is so good for me - its a regular reminder as each day marches on that time really is going by.

You may notice [probably only because I am alerting to this!] that her weight has "gone down." I don't think in reality she has lost weight, but she hasn't gained any either - this month's numbers are from her doctor's appointment, where she was naked and on an accurate scale. Usually I just weigh her when I weigh myself. You know, weigh you both, do the subtraction, blah blah blah; I think you know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, things are pretty steady in the cloth diaper department.  Honestly, not much to report.  I almost feel silly posting this because I'm practically copying and pasting from last month.  I promise to actually work on answering the questions, though :)

Adelle - 15 Months 

# of Children: 1

Gender: female

Size: 18 lbs 10 oz, 28.75 in

Average # of Diapers a day: 9

Laundry Schedule: Every three days.

 Routine: 2 pre-folds used during awake times, all-in-ones during naps, all-in-ones with hemp insert at night

Diaper Size: One size diapers - middle settings, Thirsties covers - size 2, second smallest setting, Disposables - size  3

Leaking?: Yes, once in cloth diapers [not stuffed right] and once in disposables.  It's funny, I realize whenever I use disposables that they just aren't as good.  More convienent, definitely; but the coverage is lacking and they're just asking for stuff to leak right out or up them.

How's the Poo?: Manageable, but we've been going through some stinkers this month. Don't know if what we were feeding her was causing it, or if it was just a bug.

Did you Use Disposables?: Yes, for a couple of days, due to a couple of nasty poo-based diaper rashes.

Any Changes: Changed the settings on a couple of diapers to make them longer in front [for those who care, it was the Fuzzibunz].  She is definitely becoming a wearer of low rider diapers in front, but because her legs are so skinny, I'm having to just leave the settings on most diapers the same and ratchet the diapers tighter around the waist.  I'm finding that having diapers that are size adjustable is super nice, because I can mess around to make them fit her body.  I have one diaper that isn't adjustable, and its just asking for a blowout around the legs.  I think I will have to write a post praising the wonders of the adjustable fit sometime :)

Any Issues: Nada.

Still Like Cloth?: Forever and always.

Mother's Day Crafties

Happy Mother's Day [in advance] to all the mom readers out there!  I hope you are getting something delicious, special, or comfy this Sunday. Josh asked me a couple days ago what I wanted; truth is, I have no clue.  Maybe to sleep in. Or a day where calories literally didn't count.

These gifts were actually a specific request from the grandmothers last Father's Day.  For that holiday I decorated dishes with handprints smooshed all over by a 5 month old.  Wouldn't recommend it, but our dads loved it anyway.  This year's Mom's Day make was a similar idea, but instead I smooshed 15 month old footprints on tea towels.  My best guess is our moms are going to love it too.

I learned a lot from this craft!  One, our child really is a neat freak.  Painting the bottoms of her feet was not fun at all for her.  Neither was being asked to walk in a particular direction.  However, with proper motivation [aka sugary snacks] we all survived with a couple of cute and totally homemade gifts. Second, I learned that fabric paint works especially well on fabric you don't want to get painted.  So do this project naked.

Footprint Tea Towels

You will need:

• tea towels  
• fabric paint, your choice of colors
• fabric paint pen [if you want to write sentiments on them]
• masking tape
• paper plates 
• paint brushes
• lots and lots of wipes
• a child
• a friend and her children, because the more the messier!

How it works:

1. Wash your towels and iron them well.  The washing is to get them, well, clean.  The ironing is to get rid of crinkles that would otherwise mess with the foot-painting.

2. When you're ready to begin, tape your towels down to the floor so they won't shift during the painting process.  Again, this gets messy, so do it in a place where you're comfortable with the amount of cleanup you will eventually be doing.

3. Strip your children, and yourself, of any clothing you would like to keep nice.

4. Paint the bottoms of their feet, then let them walk around on the towels. We had to repaint our kids' feet a good 3 times for each color.

5.When you like what you see, clean yourself and your child off thoroughly [I resorted to the bath tub method] and let your towels dry.

*At this point, follow the manufacturer directions for how to make sure the fabric paint sets.  The stuff I used, for example, recommends steam-ironing 1/2 inch over the fabric once the paint is dry.*

6. Add some sentiments or write the year if you want to.  I wrote a couple of appropriate verses about feet and grandparents on the towels I made.

My friend and fellow risk-taker had her children do handprints for a couple of the towels she made.  It was a nice combination for feet and hands to send to her mom and mom-in-law.

All in all, I had a lot of fun with this project [and I think my friend did too!].  Easy enough to make with a one year old, easy to wrap up and mail, and a little more personal than another bouquet of flowers.

What's the best gift you've ever gotten for Mother's Day?

The Week's Menu

Welcome back to week two of the Week's Menu!

These last couple weeks of home cooking were mostly stand-bys, with a new recipe based on a very, very old stand-by.

Split Pea Soup

Split pea soup has become my recipe of choice after major ham-consuming holidays, simply because its the most delicious thing you can make with a leftover ham bone.  I snagged one from a friend after Easter and threw it in the freezer until I could get around to making this soup.  The link is to the recipe I use, although I cook it in the crockpot for 8 hours on low instead of using a dutch oven. Making adaptations is super easy based on what ingredients I may have more or less of lurking in the fridge.  And best part is, its a yummy way to get veggies into my toddler's diet.

Artichoke Tuna Melt

Do you hate tuna sandwiches?  Me too.  That being said, you should try this recipe.  I don't know if it's the artichokes or the lemon juice, but this stuff isn't like all that other junk.  Seriously.  To make this gluten-free, we do have to splurge on gluten-free bread so Josh can truly enjoy the goodness. For us, this meal is a treat for the end of the months where we actually do a good job sticking to our grocery budget.

Forgive the so-so picture.  I forgot to add the tomatoes, and let's be honest: I'm no professional food photographer.  If you want to look at drool-worthy photos of this meal, go to the link in the title.

No-Mac N' Cheese

One of the sad things about no-wheat diets is a lot of the comfort foods are no longer an option without some creative workings.  I found this recipe during some internet research on lowering your grocery budget - another story, another time. Anywho, this recipe intruiged me because of the replacement of macaroni with cauliflower.  You probably already know about the cauliflower crust pizza, which is possibly one of the most creative and delicious gluten-free alternatives ever [if you don't, please come talk to me.  You have no idea what you're missing out on].

Unfortunately, this cauliflower-alternative didn't quite hit it as well.  Our conclusion was either to add more spices, or leave it be and serve it as a side dish.  [By the way, the cheese isn't that neon in real life.]

If you decide to give this recipe a whirl, exchange the 3 tablespoons of flour with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch when making the cheese sauce. Mix in the cornstarch with some cold milk to dissolve, and then pour it into the mixture slowly as you are stirring continuously.  Otherwise you'll wind up with chunky cheese sauce.  Trust me.  I know.

Dessert?

Rice Krispies treats, anyone?  I realized when I made these for the Sunday potluck that I have never made Rice Crispies treats before. Now I understand why every mom on the planet makes these for parties; they are soooo easy.  And now that Rice Krispies come gluten-free, there's even less of an excuse not to make them.

[Not sponsored, just me.  Pinky promise.]

First Year of School: Done!

Josh took his final final [ha ha] for year one of film school last Thursday.

I think I'm way more excited than he is.

While we did do some appropriate celebrating [AKA eating junk all weekend], I'm still totally in vacation mode.  The husband, he is not.  Part of that easily could be that life for him just never seems to stop.  Finals were over just in time for National Guard weekend [again] and now he's onto a extracurricular school project that is hopefully going to help him get an on-campus job doing video stuff.  I just lounged, slept a lot, and got Mother's day gifts done, which you will get to see on Friday.

We've also been trying to get as much outside time with kiddo as possible before it gets too hot, although it being too hot already is a debatable subject. Good news is, by October she will be more than ready to actually play on the playgrounds.

But I am slowly finding things to do inside all day with her: we sing in the bathroom, we eat raisins out of packaging that lies [those are definitely not green], and we jump on the bed.

One Little Monkey Jumping on the Bed from Shelby on Vimeo.

Such is life.

The neatest dicovery I made on Friday was that Tempe Marketplace has a splash pad; the best part was most kids there were about the same age as mine.  It's even kind of in the shade and right next to The Gap, making it an extremely tempting go-to over the next few weeks.

Any recommendations for keeping a one-year-old happy in 100 degree weather?