PinkPetunias

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I was going to write something sweet and genuine but then I thought I should post something my friend Tammy would exect from me so, here it is:

I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving surrounded by only those you can tolerate longer than the turkey dinner. :)

Gobble Gobble!

A little catching up, Halloween

Ellie had a very party filled Halloween this year. Being the terrible mother that I am, I never got her a halloween costume so I was scrambling the night before and had to whip up something for her to wear to school. I ended up taking a short sleeved halloween shirt Aunt Sissy gave her and added some white long sleeves to it. I cut the sleeves off of another shirt and sewed them into it. Then I took some elastic and looped strips of black and shimmery tulle on it for a tutu. Add pants or tights from last year and a bow and Viola! Super cutie Halloween outfit!

Note: if you want to make a no sew tutu just google "no sew tutu tutorial" and you will get a ton but his is a good image of how I tied the strips on. I did the double version.

First up, her little school party with each room celebrating individually and then a parade with all the kids through the center and out on the playground! Here are a few shots of the fun.

 

Then it was time to go to Aunt Karen and Uncle Sean's house for the annual pumpkin carving event. It was Ellie's first time attending and to sum it up, when Ellie and I left to go home around 9:15 pm she was screaming in the car "I want my party back!" I think everyone feels that way when they leave a party hosted by Karen and Sean.

A few cute pics I got of her before we went to a play date.

The Halloween Play date at Sarah and Maddox's.

And finally, Trick or Treating, also with Sarah and Maddox. The daddies stayed back and gave out candy. Ellie was going to go as Thomas the train (picture from a Thomas birthday party she attended below) but refused the train part just before we went out the door. So she was a "conductor."

What a great time!

A little catching up, H1N1

Yes, Ellie and I had H1N1 a few weeks ago. Thankfully, we weathered it just fine. She did much better than I did since she got Tamiflu within 18 hours of symtoms where as I had to wait closer to 36 since my doctor insisted upon seeing me. I was happy to be the sicker of the two, as any mom would.

Anyhow, this is my cute little infected baby and how she spent her naps. Kito was happy to have a cuddle partner and her blanket!

A little catching up, Ellie's second birthday

Sorry but this post is going to be a little picture heavy so my family in Missouri can see them.

Sometimes I cannot believe my little one is already two and other times, I cannot believe she is only two! I am sure all parents feel that way but it is still tough.

Anyhow, here is a photo recap of Ellie's birthday and her party (most pictures provided by Aunt Theresa - THANK YOU!).

Ellie and her friends having cupcakes and ice cream at school (below)

Ellie and her Pa-Pa Charlie at the fountain (below)

Ellie and her Pa-Pa Charlie on his birthday, the day before hers (below)

Ellie just after she opened her new kitchen (below)

Ellie's party (below)
 

 

 

  

Coffee and Nuts

Ellie and I drive into work together every day since her school (really daycare but she calls it school) is located on campus at work. Without traffic our drive takes about 45-50 minutes but if we hit traffic it takes at least an hour. On those days, we take the scenic route and by scenic I mean we cut through a not so great part of town. I can expect comments like "momma why is that bag rolling on the ground" and "why did she just throw that down." Today, she got all excited and was clapping at the stop light. Wanna know why? There was a trash can that was FULL of trash. She loved that some people took the time to throw their trash in the proper place. How sweet.

Ok, so back to the "coffee and nuts." Today, we hit traffic so we ducked off the beltway and took our scenic route. I knew we were going to pass a Dunkin Donuts with a drive through so I asked Ellie "can I stop and get a coffee?"

She thought about it and said "no."

So I asked "why not?"

She said I could "get nuts."

"Nuts?" I said.

"YES! And a coffee, too."

"Nuts and coffee?" I asked.

Ellie, "Yes."

"Thank you."

I thought about this for a couple of minutes and TADA! "Do-nuts and coffee?"

"Yes, momma" in her best, what-did-you-think-I-meant voice.

So, I got a coffee (she wanted a mini coffee but I said no, only momma gets coffee) and she got a big box of munchkins for her class and she carried them all the way from our car to her class and announced "Surprise! Nuts!"

The Best Red Potato Salad Recipe

For Ellie's birthday party, more on that later, I wanted some potato salad and since I had an entire bag of red potatoes sitting around I searched for a recipe that would use them. I would love to say I made the potato salad but I am thrilled that when things got a little, ok a lot crazy, my friend Tammy took over the kitchen and got all the food done. Here is what she did with the potatoes.

The Best Red Potato Salad Ever Recipe

Ingredients
5 lb bag of red potatoes, washed, skin on and cut into bite sized chunks
5 hard boiled eggs
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1 1/2 - 2 cups light mayonnaise
2 teaspoon celery seed
2 teaspoon sea salt
dill (optional)

Directions
1. Boil potatoes until done, drain and move to a large mixing bowl.
2. Mix together the mayonnaise, salt, celery seed and dill in a small bowl.
3. Peel and chop the eggs.
4. Add sauce mix, eggs and green onions to the potatoes and toss. It is best to use your hands here for good mixing, or so Tammy says. :) 

This was intended to be served cold but once we tasted it while it was still warm, it was a unanimous decision to serve it as is. It was the right choice. This really was an outstanding recipe. Sorry I do not have any pictures, maybe next time.  

Stupid Parent of the Year, Woman jailed for having girl riding in box on top of van

I know we all do some pretty questionable things when we are caught in a predicament but how bad do things need to be to have YOUR CHILD RIDING IN A CARDBOARD BOX, ATTACHED BY A HANGER, ON TOP OF A VAN, ON THE HIGHWAY?? Yes, you did read that correctly. Some idiot woman did that.

So she had to take a test to drive that van but not to have the girl she stuck on top. I think I would have been more comfortable if the 13 year old girl drove while the mom was on the roof.

Updated: Her mug shot and police report.

Halloween Goodie Bag Tutorial

Ellie got invited to a Halloween play date at her little girlfriend's house. Each parent needs to bring one healthy snack but I thought I would also bring a little goodie bag for kids. I looked at the store and all the cute ones I could find were a little pricey so I decided I would make something.

Halloween Goodie Bag

For each bag, you will need the following:

a paper bag
a black pen or fine point marker
straight edge or ruler
rounded edge (I used a lid)
a single hole puncher
1 foot of orange ribbon
spider stamp (if you are artistic, you could draw one and skip the remaining items)
embossing pad
black embossing powder 
heat gun (if you are using embossing powder only)

Directions:

Using a straight edge, draw a centered line from the top of the bag to the bottom, dividing the bag in halves.

Draw another line from one side of the bag to the other, dividing the bag into quarters.

Draw two more lines diagonally, as shown in the picture, dividing the bag into eighths. This is the foundation of the spider web.

Working in one of the eighths sections and starting in the middle of the web and moving outward, draw curved lines using your rounded edge to make the 'ladder rungs' of your spider web. 

Continue drawing curved lines within the remaining sections being sure to line up the 'ladder rungs' as you move from section to section.

Using the embossing powder and spider stamp, stamp a spider on the web.

While the ink is still wet, sprinkle liberally with embossing powder. 

Dump excess powder back into the container.

Using your heat gun, heat the embossing powder until it melts and puffs up.

At the top of the bag, punch two holes approximately a 1/2 inch apart.

Thread your ribbon through the holes.

Tie the ribbon in a bow. 

You are done. How easy was that? Super. Now I just have to come up with a healthy Halloween snack to take with us. Any ideas for me?

Dinner tonight, Black Bean Soup Recipe

A while back I made this black bean recipe and it was good but last night I tried a new one and man-oh-man, it was 100 times better than the first one. This one is thicker and much more flavorful. 

 

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup diced white onion
3/4 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
5 cloves of garlic minced
4 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups of chicken broth 
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
sour cream (optional)
diced onion (optional)
shredded cheese (optional)

Directions

1. In a dutch oven, cook onion, celery, carrots and green peppers in oil until tender, about 8-10 minutes.
2. While the veggies are cooking, take 4 cups of the black beans and 2 cups of the broth and blend until smooth in food processor or blender.
3. Add garlic to the pot and cook 2 more minutes, stirring constantly so the garlic does not get over cooked.
4. Add bean mixture, remaining broth, vinegar, chili powder, cayenne, cumin and salt to the pot and stir well. The soup will be very thin at this point.
5. Bring the soup to a full boil and reduce the heat to keep it at a low rolling boil.
6. Allow the soup to cook down without a lid for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally so the beans do not stick to the pot and burn.
7. Serve and top with onion, cheese and/or sour cream.

Enjoy, I know we loved this one!

Dinner tonight, New Orleans Style Shrimp and Rice Recipe

I had to share this recipe with you. It is not a go-to recipe for me but for the life of me I do not know why. It is a great recipe and not difficult or time consuming. Each time I have it, I tell myself I will make it more and then I just forget. I think I need to print this post and put it on the fridge to remind me to make it more. 

New Orleans Style Shrimp and Rice

Ingredients

1 stick butter
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
2 green peppers cut into 1/4 inch thick strips
1 onion cut in half and then into 1/4 inch thick half rings
2 celery stalks cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
3 tomatoes chopped
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with the excess liquid drained
2 cups of chicken broth
2 teaspoons diced parsley
2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 - 1 teaspoon of hot sauce (I used Tabasco)
1 lb of large shrimp, peeled and deveined (I keep frozen raw shrimp in the freezer for this)
Cooked white rice

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a large dutch oven over medium heat.
2. Add flour and stir until lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Add green peppers, onion, celery and cook until softened, about 7 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes, broth, parsley, seasoning, salt, and hot sauce.
5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until veggies are soft and the sauce has thickened from the reduction, about 30 minutes.
6. Add shrimp and cook until the shrimp is pink, about 4-5 minutes. 
7. Serve over rice. 

Enjoy!