{via}
Happy Monday!
We saw the light at the end of the tunnel this weekend and now we’re back out in the daylight moving into a {NEW} week.
A clean slate.
Starting over.
Lots of good stuff coming down the tracks…Art Night at Holden’s preschool tomorrow, a visit from Popsi and Holdy’s birthday and celebration later in the week.
Lots to do so better get full steam ahead!
*****
Happy President’s Day!
I enjoyed this from The Huffington Post.
Phew!
It was a BIG week.
Two {firsts} ~ one muy bueno and one no bueno!
Took our sassy little señorita for a Supercut this afternoon.
The weekend ended on a high note…hoping to have a little fun tomorrow before going back to school on Tuesday.
Hope your Sunday was also full of sass!
Nothing like a little cold air to wake you up on a Saturday morning!
By 9:00am, after a quick stop at the bagel shop, we were about 45 miles from home for a little early morning sledding.
It was gorgeous!
Last night we ran to the local children’s resale store and scored some snow pants for Elliott. They had ONE pair left in a size 6…perfect!
I love this one…
Do you like my mustard gloves? They were this week’s frugal find at Targé…$4.48 {reg. $17.99}, and yes, they are leather. I bought them for the early morning walks to school and took a chance wearing them in the snow today. I thought for sure they would get ruined, but they held up fabulously and dried out nicely. My hands stayed surprisingly warm, too. They had TONS of pairs left…I think I need to go back and pick up another pair in turquoise suede…that is if they’re still there!
*****
Looking forward to staying in and trying out a new recipe this evening. I know it’ll be one that I pass along….yum yum! Also looking forward to popping open that bottle of almond champagne from Valentine’s Day, as well.
Happy Saturday to you!
Hello and Happy Friday!
I really wish that my last couple posts were about {knitting} and not nitting. I hope for this to be the LAST of the not-so-nice lice entries. Believe you me, I am OVER googling, reading, rereading and regoogling this particular subject matter. I know life is not always lollipops and unicorns, but I’m ready to move on.
I came up with a brainy idea on Wednesday evening…I was {hoping} to send Elliott to school on Thursday so I thought “what if I burn the nits to a crisp using my flat iron?” We sat on our bed on Wednesday night and I took my Tigi Rock Star to her head. And I combed. And combed some more.
{via}
As mentioned, I kept her home yesterday too. We’re making progress, but it is a SLOW process. Between picking nits, vacuuming, doing laundry, spraying, folding and putting the laundry away, making the beds again and again, it takes some time to get the nits out. Just to make myself feel better and try to convince myself that I have done {enough}, please let me share the treatment I’ve put my sweet daughter through over the past few days:
Tuesday: lice shampoo, mayo slathering and more lice shampoo in the evening!
Wednesday: Two 1:1 ratio of vinegar to water treatments and 10-15 minutes of flat ironing
Thursday: Combing and combing. Picking and Picking.
Friday/Today: Fearful that the remaining few nits may still be {alive} I put just a little more lice shampoo, but just left it on for half the time {bad I know, but remember, I’m desperate at this point}. Then, just as I tell myself that I’m NOT going to Google anymore on this subject, I do and I find this….”killing lice with a hair straightener”. Brilliant!
OK, so I’m not the one that first discovered this, but I was thrilled to see that I actually did something the {may} really be effective 2 days ago in making sure the nits are dead…{I know this is a gross topic, but thanks for sticking with me for those of you that are still reading!}
As clever as the {Fried Lice} title is, I did not come up with it. Here is a little video of a young British girl who apparently did this as a science project.
I do not wish this ordeal on even my worst enemy.
*****
OK, enough already with that….what can we talk about now?
Oh, I know…have you ever gotten snail mail or an e-mail out of the blue from a friend with the sweetest sentiments? Well, the other day when I really needed it, I got an e-mail from a mama friend that made all things right in the world. Her kind words were a source of encouragement to get me through this week and I am eternally grateful. Thanks again, Liz!
*****
I am seriously thinking about running to Albertson’s and getting the fixins for these:
{via}
If I do decide to make these and you know where I live, you’d better come and take some away!
*****
Hoping to play in some snow this weekend in the local mountains.
Have a cozy {President’s Day} celebration!
Hello, floppers!
Trying to keep upbeat here…
I kept Elliott home again today {so much for perfect attendance}. I just want to make certain that she is “nit free” because I DO NOT want my child to be {the one who infected the whole school}.
_ _ _ _!! {insert swear word of choice}
If we had a swear jar, we’d be able to send the family on a European vacation for a month just from the past 2 days. Many of these lovely words have been said in my head, of course, but a {few} may have slipped out. Once or twice.
*****
In perusing the internet, I read that hair dye is good for {killing} the lice.
Awesome. I decided to kill two birds with one stone and do some preventative work on myself AND cover the grays. I am learning real quick that I will stop at nothing to get this household back to a {normal} working mode.
That said, Holden will have his head shaved this evening when Jay gets home.
*****
This morning I stopped by my friendly neighborhood Barnes & Noble and picked up my copy of this {I ordered it last weekend}:
{via amazon.com}
CANNOT wait to read it. We were sitting in the B&N parking lot, with the car running, and Elliott kept asking, “Mommy, why aren’t we going?”
“Shhhh, honey. Mama’s reading.”
Looking forward to really reading this book from cover to cover this evening when 50% of the household is tucked into bed. I really, really need this book right now.
Please check out Wendy’s blog. She’s darling and will make you laugh out loud. I particularly love {Stylin’ Saturdays}.
Book review coming up!
Elliott was sent home yesterday with LICE!
Ugh!
Embarrassing, I know.
A parent’s worst nightmare once their kidlets enter preschool or the elementary years.
I b-lined it to Wally World for {the special shampoo}, comb and spray. But after some research online and proof that the cheap plastic fine tooth comb wasn’t going to work {we later set out for a flea comb!}, I decided to try a more {natural} approach.
Olive Oil or Mayo.
Pick your poison….er, monounsaturated fat.
{Best Foods ~ not just for sandwiches anyore!}
I read online that a woman used mayo and combed out the nits with success…not to mention her daughter had silky, shiny hair.
I didn’t have quite the same outcome, but I only left her condimented locks in the plastic shopping bag for about 2.5 hours and it said to leave it overnight! The white goo and the lack of oxygen is supposed to suffocate the lice and kill the eggs….ya think?
I’ve collected all Pillow Pets, stuffed animals and the like and have abandoned them to the garage in plastic trash bags for the next 3 weeks and have been doing MASSIVE loads of laundry!
UGH!
Keeping her home today and making sure the nits are GONE for good! Washing machine and dryer have been going non-stop and I’ve sprayed and vacuumed and sprayed some more. ;-( Last night I did a second helping of the nasty, pesticide shampoo. I hate to use that stuff again so soon, but I think I was way too conservative when I did it the first time. I also read that a 1:1 ratio of distilled vinegar and water will loosen the glue on the eggs for easier removal. So we’ve also tried that! Between that, the two {toxic} treatments and the mayo application, I’m hoping we’re clear. Holden is still free of the pesky, wingless insects……knock on wood!
*****
This is one entry that I wish I didn’t have to make. It goes down as one of the {glamourous parenting posts}, I guess.
Yes, this is nothing but a pain in the @$$, but I know things could be much worse.
And, for that, I am grateful.
Edited to add: And YES, I did think about going the Sinead O’Connor route! I mean Britney Spears did it….
And I’m NOT even joking….not one little bit.
When I first spotted this scrumptious cheesecake, I knew it had to go on {the list}. Um, it has Keebler Fudge Striped cookies. As. The. Crust. Enough said…
Would’ve probably made it sooner, but I didn’t have a spring form pan.
But, I do NOW….and I DID make this cheesecake for our Valentine’s Day dessert.
This was my first cheesecake, so I was a little nervous.
{before the whipped cream goodness}
{and after!}
I knew I could not have this cheesecake staring at me all week {AKA eating it for breakfast with my coffee!!} so I cut it in quarters and shared with our neighbor friends. However, when I cut into it the center collapsed….maybe I didn’t chill it long enough?
Despite the oozing mess, I did receive all sorts of positive feedback. Check out this sweet comment:
“I just wanted to thank you once again for the DELICIOUS cheesecake! When I came home from work this afternoon, my mom (who was watching the boys) said, “Where did you get that to-die-for cheesecake that’s in your fridge? I helped myself to some, and I don’t think I’ve ever tried anything so divine in my whole life.” No joke, she literally talked about the cheesecake for 20 minutes! My mom is a dessert fanatic, yet over the last three decades of my life, I don’t ever remember her praising any dessert quite like your cheesecake 🙂 So, thank you again!! We all REALLY enjoyed it. Still can’t believe it was your first attempt! You must consider opening up your own catering/party business!”
Awww, thanks Alina and THANK YOU Meg @ Whatever for sharing and THANK YOU Pam for your endless hours in the kitchen perfecting this extraordinary dessert!
I’m going to call it the {traveling cheesecake} because whenever I make it, three quarters of it will find another home. It is very rich, but smooooooth and creamy.
*****
One of Jay’s favorite meals is Chicken Marsala. We use Ty Flo’s recipe and every time we make it, I wonder “Why don’t we make this more often?”
Tyler Florence’s Chicken Marsala
I served with roasted asparagus with parmesan:
{just take a bunch of asparagus, cut about 2 inches off the ends, cut in thirds on an angle, drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper & parmesan, toss, place on a baking sheet lined with foil for about 20 minutes @400*}
Easy peasy, right?
*****
That was our Valentine’s dinner…complete with crooked table cloth adorned with spilled smoothie spots and colored Crayola markers! We skipped the {Wilson Creek} Almond Champagne and will enjoy that this weekend.
And, as I mentioned, Miss Elliott lost her first tooth Valentine’s evening.
It’s so true that when you have children you start to see things differently and enjoy them so much more. V-day has never been one of my favorite holidays, but this year I really enjoyed watching them address their little valentines to their friends and see their joy when showing off all their cards. Next year my goal is to come up with a homemade valentine ~ there are loads of darling ideas out there!
And next year, even though I loved our dinner at home, {you and I} are GOING OUT to dinner, babe!
Love you.
*****
Happy Wednesday!
*****
Not only did Cupid come yesterday, but the Tooth Fairy also paid Chez Aspiras a little visit for the first time!
While chewing on a green Skittle from her Valentine loot, out it came!
We placed it in a small envelope, she wrote “Toth Fare” on the front and slipped it under her pillow.
A five dollar bill greeted her this morning…
{what’s the going rate for the {Toth Fare} these days, anyway?}
*****
Valentine’s Day recipes coming up…..
my day was derailed at about 10:30 this morning and I am scurrying around trying to rectify everything!
Everything is fine, but it’s just a NUISANCE! Any guesses?
More on that later, too…….
Happy Valentine’s Day!
{via}
Oh, how I LOVE these vintage valentine cards!
And oh how I LOVE my Valentines….
It was peanut butter banana smoothies in their cute new mugs this morning…
Then we loaded up all the valentines and headed to school.
Elliott signed 25 {cheesy} Jonas Brothers cards all by herself and helped me seal them with a little pink heart sticker.
She also has a little candy treat for her classmates…
I had visions of hand cut hearts, glitter and handwritten notes to adorn these little trinkets, but the weekend got away from us and I found myself scrambling for my Avery labels and put my new color cartridge to work!
Now that I look back, I should’ve had the label read, “Please be a {Smartie} and be my Valentine!”
Shucks! Oh well.
*****
Just wanted to add that yesterday, while I took Holden to a little birthday party, Jay and Elliott went and redeemed a certificate she got from school at Cold Stone. I found out when I got home that she chose cotton candy ice cream with m&m’s….how NASTY is that? Sorry, I know it’s not polite to comment that something that someone is eating is gross, BUT……they shouldn’t even MAKE cotton candy ice cream! Jay said it was blue! Yuck!
But I’m glad Jay & Elliott got to have some more one on one time. They also went to the park and practiced her sight words!
*****
This afternoon I’m going to be busy in the kitchen preparing a special dinner for my other Valentine…
Chicken Marsala
Roasted asparagus with parmesan
Cheesecake {my first attempt, but I found a recipe that BEGGED to be baked!}
Almond champagne toast
{recipes to come}
Wish me luck as I try out my new spring form pan!
What’s better than spending a Friday night with your girlfriends dancing to Justin Bieber?
Doing it with your daddy…
Their first Father/Daughter dance.
So sweet….
We had a last minute wardrobe change, but I think this little get-up is certainly perfect for a {Hollywood Night on the Red Carpet}
Bow: Gymboree
Leotard: FREE from her dance studio!
Pettiskirt: Costco via Gramma
Sweater: Nordstrom via Lola
Zebra rosette: Yours truly
Tights: Target
Gold glitter shoes: Target {$3.24!}