Rain, Rootbeer, Repairs, and Runneth Over...

I've been itching to post something on the blog all week, but every day there has been something that keeps getting in the way. I think it's called life.

Monday

Monday was...well, I can't remember. That feels like months ago.

Tuesday

Tuesday was my laundry/cleaning day.
Three loads of laundry: washed, dried, folded, and put away.
Furniture dusted.
Windows/mirrors Windexed.
Toilets scrubbed.
Floors mopped.
Carpets vacuumed.
I even squeezed in a trip to the grocery store.
It was one of those days that I contemplated wearing a cape.
By the time 3:30 p.m. rolled around, Aubrey was itching to get out of the house.
She had been a champ all day while I was on a cleaning frenzy so I asked her, "Aubrey, where would like to go for the rest of the afternoon?"
The ZOO!
So off to the zoo we went!

Sidenote: Is it just my munchkin, or do other people's kids prefer the non-animal attractions at the zoo? 

Anyway, after starting at the playground, we decided to make our way to the giraffes.

That's when the thunder started.

Drip...drop...drip...drop.

It started raining.

Then it started POURING.

We scurried under some big trees. 

Aubrey loved every wet second. 

Some kind-hearted zoo workers in golf-carts rescued us from the monsoon.
By the time we made it back to our vehicle, we were soaked to the bone.
We had been at the zoo approximately 28 minutes.
Oh well, at least she had fun.

Wednesday

Wednesday morning started off with quite a bang as I opened the freezer to get an ice-pack for Aubrey's MDO lunchbox and saw this aimed right at my face.

Someone {cough, Daniel, cough} forgot they put a GLASS-bottled rootbeer in the freezer the night before. I grabbed the unscathed ice pack and decided to just deal with the mess after I dropped Aubrey off at "school". Well, Aubrey wanted to see what an erupted glass bottle looked like, so I re-opened the freezer door and...

CRASH! 

The bottle fell from the top shelf all the way down to the tile floor below.

Did I mention that I had just mopped the floors YESTERDAY.
By this point, we should have already been in the car to get Aubrey to MDO on time.
Aubrey, being the sweetie that she is, was insisting on helping me clean up.
All you moms out there know how that goes: major mess, running late, toddler hands itching to "help".
After getting the majority of it cleaned up, miraculously without a single cut or band-aid needed, we jumped in the car to get to MDO.
Man, it's hot already...
{Crank up the A/C}
Man, it's STILL hot...
{Putting hand up to the A/C vents}
Oh lovely...warm air blasting out.

Thursday

Then today, Aubrey went to the potty before her "rest" time. She flushed the toilet and walked to her room. As I said a quick prayer before turning her clock "blue" for the allotted time, I noticed I could still hear the toilet running...
Yep, water all over the floor.

As I type this -- my once clean house is no-longer "clean", there are still rootbeer remnants in the freezer, our car is in the shop, and I just picked up the soggy towel from the bathroom floor.

I'm really ready for Friday.

Wait...tomorrow is the 13th?

As in Friday the 13th?!

Oh drats.

Lundi Love

Last  Monday, I woke up to our heater not working. {Brrr.}

This Monday, I woke up to our fridge not working. {Drip. Drip.}

It would have been much more convenient if both had given out on the same day. 

Then I could have just salvaged our food by setting everything out around our frigid house. 

Oh well.

There are bigger problems in the world. 

We'll be just fine. 

Except for the ice cream. 

It's a goner.

So.

With it being kind of a crazy morning, this Lundi Love is gonna be pretty random (as if you couldn't already tell...).

With all things turning sour over here by the minute, let's focus on something sweet shall we?

Maybe some chocolate-covered strawberry cakeballs or strawberry fudge or double chocolate brownies?

Now that we've covered some tasty treats, why not find something fun to wear!

Have you heard of Ordinary Hero?
Their mission is to inspire and empower ORDINARY people to make an EXTRAORDINARY difference in the life of a child in need. They have some very Valentine-y apparel for you and your munchkin. Check it out.

By the way, I think the girl on the right has a sugar problem too.
But I like her spunk and that shirt, so I ordered it.
I'm actually wearing it right now as I type this...wanna see my pose?
{That ILOVEYOU is for you, Marjie.}

That naked, dancing munchkin also has a sugar problem.
We're working on it.
Well...starting after we make a quick trip to get more ice cream...
;)

This Calls For Some Celery!

Name that show.

If you guessed Wonder Pets, you would be correct.


So, the other day I was making a new recipe (which ended up being a total flop, by the way) that called for celery.
I realized my current celery had lost its crispiness and was starting to wilt.

Sad, sad celery.

As you all know, I have a strange sympathy for foods that are going bad.
It's a bizarre desire to give them one last shot at a good life or something.

Anyway...what to do with limp-y celery...


I've got it!

Let's do an experiment!


Have any of you ever done The Celery Experiment?
It's so easy!
Here's all you need:

• Celery
• Clear vases/glasses
• Food coloring
• Water

You put the water in the clear vase(s)/glass(es), add the food coloring for desired color(s), stir gently with the celery stalk (make sure there are leaves at the top), and then wait to see what happens!

It's a great experiment for a toddler -- a fun and simple way to show how plants absorb water. And how when food coloring is added to the water, it travels with the water into the celery's stem and then into the leaves. The food coloring helps to illustrate how nutrients are delivered to all parts of the plant.

I even got to  use words like osmosis and photosynthesis.
I'll admit, it felt pretty nice to sound smart in Aubrey's presence, especially after my "Milky Way" fiasco the other day.

All the steps are basic enough to let the toddler be involved the whole time.
You can let them add the food coloring (counting each drop) and even talk about how to combine colors to get a new color.

And boy do toddlers love stirring. Especially with celery.

This picture below makes me have a mini panic attack.

This better be the closest Aubrey gets to a Bloody Mary.

That's all I'm saying.

Then, all that's left to do is wait for the magic.

After we had completed the prep work, I thought it would be fun to document our experiment.
(Am I turning into a nerd?)
We didn't go through all the steps of the scientific method or anything, but I did have Aubrey make her own prediction of what she thought would happen.
Aubrey's hypothesis: The celery would grow flowers.
By the way, the word hypothesis really rocked her world. Piggybacking off my osmosis and photosynthesis from earlier, hypothesis gave me that little bump into genius territory with Aubrey. It felt good.

Less than 24 hours later...

Blue was definitely the winning color -- the other colors took a little longer to show and weren't nearly as vibrant.

And since I can't just let the experiment be done, after Aubrey went to bed, I decided to try it on some white flowers (I wanted white carnations, but the place I went didn't have any.) to show the water absorption in another plant. (Again, blue seemed to be what worked the quickest.) The next morning when Aubrey saw the flowers, she said, "LOOK MOM! I told you they would grow flowers! I was right!"

That girl is never going to let me help her with her homework is she?
Hmph.

I've Gone Bananas

My bunch of bananas turned on me the other day and joined the dark side earlier than I expected.
(The people in my house won't touch a banana if it has the slightest bit of freckling.)
So, instead of throwing the naners out or using them to make a nice, healthy smoothie (which I totally should have done), I decided to make cupcakes instead.
Shocker, right?

If you have some unruly bananas you wanna get rid of, make these!
They are scrumdiddlyumptious.
Or you can be all high and mighty and make a stupid smoothie, I guess.
Do whatever you want.
They're your bananas.
Just don't come crying to me when you get a brain-freeze from slurping down your wonderfully nutritious smoothie.
Well, okay, you can come crying to me...
I'll give you a nice, sweet, fluffy banana-chocolate chip cupcake to make you feel better. :) 

Banana-Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups (about 3) mashed ripe bananas
3 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour (all-purpose)
3 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup chopped pecans (I left these out, my family isn't nuts about nuts.)
1 (6 oz.) package milk chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet chips instead.)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place paper baking cups in 24 muffin cups.
Cream butter, sugar and brown sugar in bowl until smooth.
Beat in eggs, bananas and vanilla.

In separate bowl, combine flour and baking soda and add to creamed mixture just until it blends well.
Stir in pecans and chocolate chips and fill muffin cups half full.

Bake for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan.
Cool completely before frosting.
Yields 24 cupcakes.

Buttercream frosted is recommended, but I just used plain old whipped vanilla.

A light dusting of powdered sugar would probably be tasty too.

Daniel gobbled down two cupcakes before I frosted them (and he doesn't even like cupcakes!), so truthfully there's no topping necessary if you want to knock off the extra calories.

{Recipe from my favorite cupcake cookbook -- Thanks again, Lacey!}
________________________________________

In honor of our recent Snow White, I have a princess/baking joke for you before I sign-off and eat my third cupcake of the day (why didn't I just make a dang smoothie?):

What was Snow White's brother's name?

Egg White! 
Get the yoke?

Okay, stick a toothpick in me...I'm done.

A Different Kind of Pudding

Okay, so if you don't like banana pudding...I have another pudding for you.

This time it's warm, chocolaty, and ooey-gooey.

It doesn't exactly seem like a typical "Summer" dessert, but if you're confined indoors due to the horrendous heat and the A/C is giving you goosebumps...this will be (as my mom likes to say) a "warm hug on the inside".

Or...if you're like me and it's nearing the end of the week/month and you realize that your bread is one day past its BEST BY date, your milk is more than half full with tomorrow as its expiration, and your not quite sure what that date says on your egg carton anymore...

Boy, do I have some delicious news for you.

What if I told you that you could use all those things to make this:

(along with a few other items, of course...)

Okay, let's get down to it.

Here's what you do...

Take that stale bread (and just to show it how much you don't care that it started to feel like spongy cardboard -- set the slices out for a couple of hours) and cut it into cubes.

Then take your milk and eggs (and vanilla extract and salt) and whisk them together.
Really show 'em who's boss...

Then, take that liquid-y mixture and dump on the bread.
Splat.

The wanna-be bad bread, milk, and eggs think they've pulled one over on you by the looks of the mush. But let them think that...turn your back and head for the ingredient that never lets a girl down: Chocolate.
(and brown sugar and butter)

Melt this lovely trio together and try to resist licking the bowl clean.

Slop it into the mushy mess...

And sic your munchkin on it...

Wait just a second.
Aubrey, I "mustache" you a question...
Yes, Mother Dearest?
Did you lick some of that chocolate when I went to turn on the oven?
Define "lick", please...

Nevermind.
It's oven time.

1 hour baking + 15 minutes cooling + 5 fresh strawberries later =

And there you have it, folks.
The best thing that's happened to sliced bread.
(and milk and eggs...)

Now if you'll excuse me, I have 10 minutes or less until Aubrey wakes up from her nap. And, I have one last thing to check off my "to-do" list...
Go grab a spoon.

___________________________

Here's the detailed recipe if you want to clean out your fridge and pantry this weekend:

Chocolate Bread Pudding
[If the thought of bread pudding grosses you out (it used to for me),
I promise this tastes like the best gooey brownie you've ever had in your life.]

Melt:
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, cubed [I have used salted butter and just skipped the salt ingredient, and it turns out deliciously the same.]

Whisk Together; Pour Over:
2 cups whole or 2% milk
3 eggs
2 Tablespoons vanilla extract [Feel free to use less vanilla if the 2 TBSPs scares you.]
2 teaspoons espresso powder [I don't have this in my house, so I skip it.]
1/2 teaspoon table salt
13 slices of staled bread, cut into 1" cubes [I use whatever bread we have on hand at the time: white, wheat, honey wheat, etc.]

Fold In:
Chocolate mixture

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; coat a 9" spring-form pan with 1 Tablespoon softened unsalted butter. [I just hose it down with Pam Cooking Spray.]

Melt chocolate chips with the sugar and butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir frequently until chips are smooth, about 8 minutes. [I do my melting in the microwave: 30 seconds/stir; 30 seconds/stir; good to go.]

Whisk milk, eggs, vanilla, espresso, and salt together and pour over bread cubes. Toss well so the bread absorbs most of the liquid and begins to lose its shape.

Fold the melted chocolate into the bread mixture, then transfer to the prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour, or until the center springs back when gently pressed.

Cool on a rack for 15 minutes, remove the sides of the pan, and slice.

[Footnote: I like serving it with some powdered sugar sprinkled on top, along with strawberries and vanilla ice cream.]

*You can make this a day ahead. To reheat, just warm it in a 300 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

Recipe from Cuisine at Home Magazine, February 2006 & April 2009

Trash Talk

One good thing about moving after only one year is that it forces you to throw things out. You would think arriving in June of 2008, there wouldn't be much to throw away. You would be wrong, as was I.

I've mentioned before, I try to pack at least one box a day. Well, that's pretty much stopped. I am now more interested in "cleaning things out" -- you know, going through closets/desks/junk drawers/etc. Today, I decided to cleanse the kitchen. I tossed Aubrey in her Johnny Jump Up and away we went!

I was appalled by the amount of food in the pantry and fridge that converted to the dark side without me knowing. Ashamedly, I remember packing many of the items up in Birmingham. At least they won't be getting packed for a SECOND time. Ugh...

Throwing away an unopened box of chocolate will make any woman cry...

I bought this next item when I was in college, I remember because in my French class we got on the subject of European cuisine, and wound up talking about about couscous. You know how long dry goods last, right? Well, this expired in 2005. 2005!

This lovely pair made me miss my precious Publix. Aubrey and I did a ceremonial "Moo Moo here...and a Moo Moo there...here a Moo, there a Moo...everywhere a Moo Moo..." It made me feel a tad better.


And my all time favorite...the not-so-hot potatoes:

This is what happens when you buy potatoes and forgot you bought them. Doesn't this look like a science project gone bad {or good, in some cases...}?!

Two heavy-duty garbage bags full of expired goods later, and this kitchen has officially been cleansed. As I sat there and looked at these two ghosts of food-gone-bad, I was hit with conviction. We don't have the money right now to be this wasteful. Heck, even if we had the money, it's absurd to chuck this much food into the dumpster.

This might just have been what I needed to get me on track. I think what needs to happen is more planning on my part. What do we need this week? Make my grocery list accordingly and then buy only those items. In the past, I would see an item and say, "Oh, I should eat more of that..." {think low-fat yogurt}. I proceed to buy it and never eat it because, let's face it, I also bought a 2 lb. bag of M&Ms. They'll beat yogurt every time.

Well after today, I'm motivated. No more wasteful spending. I am going to sit down and plan out this week's meals and go armed to the grocery with a clear-set goal. Oh, and now I'm determined to use what's left in the pantry and kitchen before we pack up and move to Oklahoma. Anyone got any good recipes that call for pickles, lemon juice, baking soda, oatmeal, and cupcake liners? No? Well, let me know...

And while we're on this subject, does anyone have any good coupon using suggestions? I will {shyly} admit, I detest cutting coupons. I know a ton of moms out there that practically get high off clipping "Save $.10" but not me. Now I'll buy the generic version all day long {see the Publix brand Evaporated Milk pic in this post}, but unless it's a "No Card/Coupon Necessary" sale item, I don't bother.

It's not that I haven't tried using coupons, it's just I get burned when I use them. One problem I have is that often times the coupons are for items I don't usually buy. I end up getting them because "it's such a great deal!" and then, well...you see what happens: two garbage bags full of "great deals."

Okay, I think I've "junked up" enough of your day with this trash-y post.

I leave you with my little "Oscar the Grouch" Aubrey enjoying her own trash can. And trust me, what's inside hers is even more disturbing than the potatoes.